Puppy Days
by Zimithrus1
Summary: Zack and Angeal have an irrevocable bond as mentor and student stronger than words could ever describe. When a mission involving a cunning AVALANCHE operative and an army of Ravens goes wrong, that bond is severed in the form of crimson blood and taken away. Fueled by redemption, The First Class swears to avenge his student. However, he didn't expect to have that bond rekindled. AU
1. I: Antecedents

Hello everyone! Welcome to another new story pumped out fresh from my head! I know what you all are thinking though, "Zimmy, why are you starting _another_ story even though you're already working on six others and keeping us waiting on those?" And to that, I say, "I have an overactive imagination!" *pumps fist into air*

Anyways, since the summary was a lil' vague, this AU is about Angeal and Zack with a different beginning, not as mentor and student, but something else :3 However in the first few chapters it will start with them as mentor and student before changing! Oh, if you squint, you can see some hints of AxZ in the first few chapters of the fic XD So, with that said, I hope you all enjoy! :)

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~I: Antecedents~

"There's something suspicious about this. I don't like it either." SOLDIER director Lazard spoke up with a tint of annoyance bubbling deep in his voice.

Currently, the blonde-haired director was sitting behind his desk with a large map spread out across it. There were red circles and X's all over the page. There was writing spaced out in certain corners of the tattered paper map and a stain that was probably tea or coffee rest in the upperhand right corner. A certain location was circled many times with thick brushstrokes, as if the writer had been angered when encroaching it into a thick red circle.

"It makes no sense. Why would an AVALANCHE base bomb itself and take out all of its materials?" He asked himself as he shook his head before bringing up a right gloved hand to press against his forehead and shield most of his face.

"Perhaps they had important documentations they would rather destroy than let fall into enemy hands." A voice like baritone silk interjected.

Lazard glanced back up as he removed his hand from his face to meet eye-to-eye with the owner of the voice. General Sephiroth stood tall and firm in front of him, Commanders Hewley and Rhapsodos on either side of the silverette. Each of them wore firm and slightly conflicted expressions on their faces at this current news. It was certainly a massive load to take in.

However, Hewley had more of an angered glower in his eyes of storming midnight's blue than either of the other three in the room. His stance, posture, expression, everything resembled more of beast than man. He looked haggled, frazzled even. The rebel faction daring to challenge them was just adding more fuel to the fire that was the First class. Now with this news, that fire was burning blue behind his eyes as his face was set into a harsh glower and scowl.

AVALANCHE had been a problem, a thorn in their side, for quite some time now. Every time they came close to eliminating them, they were just one step behind the cunning leadership of their main man: Locke Shears. Every attempt thwarted, every move blocked. When the smoke cleared, they were never to be found. They even out-maneuvered the Turks with ease. Not only that, but every operative ever sent after a possible lead to an AVALANCHE base never returned. Half of the SOLDIER units had just vanished and had yet to be found or return.

This annoyance had gone on for so long that they had finally decided to sent the best of the best to go toe-to-toe with them. However, they were evaded, avoided, and given the run-around at every point or location. Every base was cleared out and everything taken with them before Shin-Ra even had time to blink. The president had been more than enraged with blind fury knowing that these slippery bastards had yet to be caught and put down. Patience was wearing thin and breaths were growing ragged.

Not to mention that hearts were left in shambles and tension was at an all time high. Among those mix of SOLDIER's that had been taken out or went off the map had been Third and Second classes alike of all powers and strengths. Even a few firsts did not return. Each loss cut deep within the company. But for one First class, one loss trumped any loss at any given time or day. For Commander Angeal Hewley, AVALANCHE had crossed the line when they took his student.

It had happened four months ago. It was a night raid at a base located just below the plate. It was a small group with even smaller numbers. But they had left the best to deal with the only time SOLDIER was able to get close enough to just touch a metaphorical hair on their heads. The Shin-Ra group assembled consisted of Hewley himself, his student: Zack Fair, Commander Rhapsodos, and a few unknown Thirds.

The base was located in the slums of sector five, nestled deep and snug within Wall Market; Don Corneo's territory. The mob leader and AVALANCHE had made a pact to side with one another to help either take down Shin-Ra, or provide shelter and snuff out the dot on their radar. The operations were taking place right within the dungeon of the Don's manor. They stormed the front door while a few checked out the perimeter.

It had been relatively dark that night. Only a single light in the main lobby was on and flickering. The light was on, but no one was home. As soon as Hewley, Fair, and Rhapsodos stood in the middle of the foyer to get a better scope of the building, it was washed in bright flames when a heat sensor bomb strapped to the ceiling above the chandelier ignited. The massive light structure came crashing down to the center of the room, each SOLDIER only given a few seconds to roll out of the way to avoid being crushed by a two-hundred pound light fixture.

While the operatives were dazed and the building was licked in greedy flames, that's when the AVALANCHE crew lept from the second floor and down to the first. They looked strange, with strength that matched even their's. They felt familiar as well. It jostled their fighting spirit and left their minds in shambles while they tried to figure out why they were so strong and familiar. There were six of them altogether. Two-against-one while the burning building crackled as the obscene heat warped the structure and _wooshed_ with the heat of the fire.

Metal against metal resonated throughout the noisy building burning long and strong. It was a tough battle for all three of them. Dodge, block, block, thrust, dodge, block. Little to no counter attacks were given. The stamina of the Firsts held fast, but the Second was beginning to wear thin. Huffing harshly, coughing raspingly in the thick charcoal gray smoke, slowing down.

Another bomb had ignited from their left, the heat and force sending the Firsts flying into the wall adjacent to that of the explosion. There was harsh ringing in Angeal's ears as a light-headed feeling swept over him like an ocean wave. He lay incapacitated with his back propped up against an undamaged portion of wall while debris from the ceiling kept him trapped to the ground waist down.

Genesis was back up with more fury than before, casting his own fire spell at his targets to incinerate them just like the building they were battling in. The warriors of the rebel faction were up in flames while the fire licked at their clothes, melting them along with the flesh. What were once Angeal's targets soon became the red-head's and he took them on with a mighty cry.

Zack had successfully taken out one of the warriors, but not without injury. Cuts litter his arms and face, crimson red trailing down his forehead and dripping to the ashy ground below his booted feet. He was rasping in the smoke, coughing throatily, lagging significantly as he tried to keep up with the tempo of the battle raging on around them like the fire.

A surprise attack had the teen of only fifteen flying into the wall and breaking the drywall and wood behind the charcoaled wallpaper. He fell to the floor with a thud and little movement afterwards. The second warrior drew a blade, raising it to strike as the Second class looked up at him with frightened eyes, begging for mercy. Gloved hands balled into fists as his breath hitched as the tiniest whimper came from the back of his throat in a little voice as he stared at his horrified soot-covered face in the steel of the blade.

Watching this occur took the light-headedness right out of Angeal as he obliterated the debris above him with a mighty cry, using his famed Buster sword in his moment of sheer panic and adrenaline. Right now, blade be damned, his student was in danger! The AVALANCHE operative paid no mind to the First's outburst and began to bring his blade down to the incapacitated SOLDIER, while the younger writhed and tried to find strength to roll out of the way, but not being able to.

 _"Not on my watch, you scum!"_ He cried as he poised his blade eye-level on his right.

With a burst of speed that was more inhuman than anything, the massive First class charged the drone and sliced him right through the middle at the gut. The body flew from the force and when it hit the wall it split into two and painted the black walls scarlet red before falling down to the ground without life. The older ravenette panted harshly, the adrenaline in his blood pumping fast and hard as his heart beat frantically against his ribcage. He quickly pulled his eyes away from the dead body split in two and sank to his knees in front of his student.

"I... I'm sorry, Angeal. I screwed up." He grunted with hardly a voice as it was mostly a sob rather than speech.

The older man pulled the younger towards him as the fire howled around them and the smoke swarmed their frames like a caress. A cry from one of the drones signaled that Genesis eliminated the last of the pawns of AVALANCHE that had been still standing. Now that the building was caught in flames, there would be no way to salvage anything they happened to find.

"You did not screw up, Zack. You did good." He praised as he attempted to wipe the blood from his student's face, managing to only smear the crimson liquid across his soot-dotted face. The kind gesture was appriciated, though.

"So, this is the best of the best? Looks like table scraps to me." A voice sneered from the second floor.

The three on ground level glanced up to see Locke Shears leaning against an ash coated banister. His chestnut brown hair poked out from his bandana and his brown eyes glimmered in the flames. He hopped over the banister and landed loud against the creaking wood below only a few feet from the mentor and student.

 _"Table scraps?!"_ Genesis screeched, clutching Rapier even tighter in his right hand as he took a step foreward.

However, each man on Shin-Ra's side was silenced when more drones began to appear from the second floor and hop down to the first floor to join their leader. They stood next to him on either side, creating a massive line of moving black-clad bodies ready to attack when given the signal.

"I see you faired... Decently for round one. But how will round two treat you?" He asked as he stepped back.

That was the only cue they were given before the mass moved to draw their blades and attack. Angeal quickly scooped Zack up and threw him over his right shoulder, causing the teen to gasp out his air and grunt softly. The First turned his raging midnight blue eyes to his comrade and friend.

"Genesis, can you hold them off while I get Zack to a safe location?" He asked before the masses had time to rush them.

"Please Angeal, who do you think I am?" He questioned with a smirk as he cast a spell across Rapier to engulf the blade in bright orange light to power it up.

The ravenette nodded and took off towards the front door not too far away from them. However, as soon as the man burst out of the flaming building, a multitude of drones stood to block his path with the unknown Thirds dismembered and brutally mutilated around their feet. It then dawned on him that they _wanted_ this to happen. They purposly let their location coordinates out so they would lure them here and eliminate them. How could they have been so blind to just jump right in?

Locke then slithered up behind Angeal and paused right behind him. It wasn't until he felt pain when the First realized what just happened. He slowly looked down to see the sheen of a small knife sticking out of his gut as crimson oozed off the steel and around the wound. It was then twisted and yanked out, causing the ravenette to grunt and be sent to the ground on one knee. In his pain, he tightened the grip on his student's slackened frame. When he heard a slight groan, he knew the teen was still with him and the leader of AVALANCHE did not wound him.

"Hmm. An interesting development. You are not worried about yourself, but about your pupil." Locke deduced with a hum and a smile.

Angeal was able to catch on to what the brown-haired man was hinting at. With his free hand clutching his wound to try and stop the bleeding, he turned his head over his shoulder with a venomous glare.

"If you even _think_ about even touching him, I will not hesitate to end you where you stand." He threatened.

"Oooh, how frightening! I'm sorry to say, but your threats do not scare me in the slightest. Ravens, go after the boy." Locke commanded.

The masses received their order and made their move. Angeal knew he was in a pinch now. He could not rely on Genesis to back him up while he was fighting the drones inside. Now he realized he would have to wield his sword left-handed instead of right, since his pupil was slung over his right shoulder. No matter. He would fight through this as long and hard as he needed to. He would not let them get his precious student.

Angeal wouldn't peg himself as selfish, but he was possesive without a doubt. He would let _no one_ , no entity, no being, no higher man, take away _his_ pup. With a glare and a scowl burning in his eyes and warping his face, he stood. He tightened his grip on his blade and growled fiercely. He readied his sword, and when those drones got close enough, he went wild.

He hacked and slashed, nicked and cut, stabbed and sliced. He did everything in his power to keep them all at bay and protect his pupil at all costs. The teen was too hyper for his own good and rather reckless and would probably ask 'how high?' if you asked him to jump. But he was a good kid. He had one of the biggest hearts the Commander had ever seen. He was selfless, dauntless, compassionate and kind. Not only that, but he was still innocent as could be. For every life he took, he would spend that night in tears and regret and ask for forgiveness.

Angeal was not about to let his student either be killed, taken away, or used as a pawn for AVALANCHE. He would fight till the death if he had to. He kept this mindset even fifteen minutes into the never-ending battle. Locke stood near the flaming building, the structure wobbling in the wind and sure to collapse at any moment. He yawned obnoxiously, becoming bored of watching the same fight with little to no improvement on either side.

"Alright, it's about time to wrap this up." he stated before rushing into the masses with his two knives flicked out and readied at his hands.

He easily mauvered through his Raven pawns and right into the circle the mentor and student were trapped in. He jumped up and ran his blade right through the teen's back, spurting blood into the air while the teen cried out in agony as his body convulsed with each shockwave of pain. With the second knife, he followed up with another cut into the same area, severing the nerves in half and cracking the vertebrae before landing back on to solid ground with a smirk.

"Zack? _Zack!_ " Angeal cried as the teen over his shoulder began to convulse and cry out as blood dripped down his back and to hit ground below.

While the First was distrated, Locke was easily able to take the bigger man down by taking the knife in his left hand and slicing the back of his legs. The Commander toppled down with a cry, student flown over his shoulder from the quick movement of the fall as both of them hit the concrete below. The convulsing ravenette twitched as his voice cracked and could not longer scream or cry out.

The brunette crouched to the ground and balanced on the balls of his feet, looking the twitching Second class over from head to toe. He tapped at his chin in mock thought as a gentle hum echoed behind closed lips.

"Now what should I do with this one? Maybe I should kill him? Maybe he could serve as a good Raven. No, that won't do, I think I cut too deep into those nerves..." He pondered as he started to poke the teen's body with his knives. He poked at his legs, getting no movement or muscle fluctuation. On the arms, he got some moans and spasms.

"Oh dear, seems I've paralyzed him waist down, what a shame." He deduced with mock pity as he tapped that knife at the ravenette's cheek, drawing a slithering trail of blood down his face.

 _"You-!"_ Angeal cried with venom laced thick in his voice.

Locke looked over to see the fallen First hunched on to his hands and knees with a glare burning behind those eyes of deep blue. Those eyes burned like wildfire out of control and the way he drew in those ragged breaths sounded more like the growling of a savage beast. He pushed himself up to sit on his knees as his eyes glanced from the AVALANCHE leader and to his student. When he saw the condition the youth was in, the elder just snapped.

Locke felt something change in the air, the current altered and blew the other way. It seems as if he had pushed the First to his limits and beyond: A Limit Break, specifically speaking. He shot up to his feet and clenched his blade with both hands as he rushed at the offender with the speed of an out of control locomotive. The brunette knew he couldn't fool around if he wanted to remain standing after this brutal attack. Based on the build of his enemy, he was powerful and fought that way as well. His attacks were sure to do some damage if he didn't stay alert.

He was able to see the first few swings, but the ones that followed turned more into blur than blade as he was nicked, cut, and sliced all over his body. All he could do was block to the best of his abilities and wait for the break to dissipate. During one of his blocks, the blade in his right hand was ripped right out of it, leaving the leader to defend with only one knife. He had been cut up pretty good by the time the SOLDIER came down from his limit high. He could actually say he was banged up bad enough to know he was at his limit.

Out of spite, he decided to change up his plan. He backed up, keeping his eyes on the formidable foe before him until he was standing right in front of the fallen pupil. He had his remaining knife clutched tight in his left hand. He raised up his foot and planted it against the massive gash in the back of the Second class, in which grunted and writhed under the weight upon the wound.

 _"Get off him before I cut your legs off!"_ Angeal shouted as he pointed his blood-stained blade at the enemy.

"You're good, SOLDIER. Too good. Allow me to dull your spiritual blade." He spoke eloquently, performing the smallest of bows in a mock fashion.

He then bent down and gripped a fistful of raven black hair in his fist and yanked up. Zack's head lurched up like he had been hit from behind as he let out a choked cry as tears finally began to slip down his cheeks to twine together with his blood. His face was further sullied.

"Don't-" Angeal warned, realizing what the operative was about to do to his student.

He began to run with his blade outstretched, moving slow like he as stuck in mud. Like the feeling of trying to run away from something in a dream but being unable to run, and instead just move in slow motion. The Second's eyes glanced quickly to his mentor. They were filled with fright, pain, and yearning. His left hand slowly began to reach out to him, like if they could just reach then it would be all okay.

Angeal's blood chilled, running cold as he saw Locke take that blade and slit Zack's throat with it. The scarlet liquid spurt out in haphazard directions and patterns as the teen's electric blue eyes pulled away from his teacher long enough to roll into the back of his head and his body fell limp, left hand dropping to the ground as his fingers twitched gently as the life drained out of him and swirled all around his figure.

"I'm taking his corpse with me. If you want revenge, come and find me, SOLDIER!" Locke spat as he removed his foot from the ravenette's back while keeping a fistful of hair in his iron-hard grip. As he began to walk away dragging the Second Class's body behind him like an old toy, he gave out an order to his pawns. "Slow him down."

That had been the last he had even seen of that man and his student before black-clad bodies swarmed his vision.

"-Geal... Angeal!" A voice called.

The Commander shook his head to the left and right, breaking out of his stare and his revere. He sniffed thickly, pulling back tears before they could show themselves. When his senses returned to the present moment, his friends were looking at him from in front of Lazard's desk.

"Commander Hewley, are you alright?" Lazard asked with concern flashing behind his dull blue eyes.

"Fine, just thinking about Zack, so, what have we discussed so far?" He quickly asked as he glanced over the map as his hair fell to shield his face on either side where his friends stood.

"I see. I'll recap for you." Lazard spoke, clearing his throat awkwardly.

This happened in just about every AVALANCHE related mission. The Commander would space off, staring far away like something was playing behind his eyes where only he could see and hear. If you paid attention to his eyes, they would water significantly but he would never cry. He always pulled them back or someone pulls him out of his thoughts before it can go any further. Lazard hated seeing one of his best SOLDIER's go through that kind of pain and even went as far as to try and remove him from any mission pertaining to the rebel faction.

However, the ravenette was adamant about staying on every single mission where they could have been sighted, or even just a scouting mission. He'd say the same thing every time.

 _"I will not rest until that frightened face my student gave me is turned back into how it was when I can finally find his body and lay him to rest."_

"-So, we've discovered an AVALANCHE base in Modeoheim. It's a good location seeing as we do not have a reactor set up there and are cut off from that town, more or less. However, we got a report from one of the locals that there was an explosion in an old bath house that they were using as their base. When they went to check out the site, it was in shambles but there were bodies left behind. They said that some of them still had SOLDIER uniforms on.

We've deduced these must have been the missing operatives we've been sending out these past few months. There have also been sightings of experimental equipment and tools laying about, mostly destroyed, but it's worth checking out. We are sending you three to scope out for possible survivors and eliminate any leftover rebels that have chosen to remain in case there are secrets that must be guarded." Lazard explained as he pointed around certain areas on the map during his speech.

"Understood, when to we leave?" Angeal questioned.

"Immediately. There should be a chopper waiting for you on the roof." He explained.

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A/N: And here's where I'll be ending this chapter! It was a pretty brutal opening, huh? XD Yeaaah, no regrets though! You might be a bit confused. "Zimmy, you said that Zack and Angeal aren't student and teacher, but you just made them that!" Yes, this is true, only in this chapter is it like that! It changes in chapter two and you'll see how and why :3

Well then, don't forget to drop a line, leave a review, or type a response and let me know what you guys thought of it! Every bit counts and helps! :)

Until the next chappie everyone!

Toodles!  
~Zimithrus1


	2. II: Encounter

Hello everyone! Here's chapter two of Puppy Days! :D Thanks to everyone that has favorited, followed, viewed, and reviewed this story, it means a lot to me! :) Well, since there's not much to say up here, enjoy the chapter!

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~II: Encounter~

Helicopter rides were always a pain when you even had two people inside. So for there to be _three_ people inside the chopper was suffocating at best. Angeal and Genesis were sandwiched up to each other, the red-head trying to nudge his friend away so he could get more room while the ravenette just playfully glared at the red-coated individual. Sephiroth's neutral stare was on his face as usual as he preoccupied himself with staring out the window with his arms folded across his chest.

"If you ask me, we should each get our own choppers so we don't have to be squished into one! This is just aggravating." Genesis complained as he elbowed his ravenette friend in the side. "Is it necessary to be so muscular, Angeal? Why couldn't you sit with Sephiroth?" He shot with an annoyed glower behind his milky blue eyes.

"It's not my fault you can't sit still. Besides, if you sat next to him you'd be doing exactly what you're doing to me." The ravenette countered as he gave his own nudge to the fiery Commander.

From his peripheral vision, he could see the General smirk an all-knowing smirk as he continued to stare out the window. Angeal took to looking out the window as well while Genesis muttered something and fidgeted once more. The sky was draining into early evening. Where afternoon had once washed a light blue over the horizon was now replaced with a soft indigo and light violet and near the sinking sun was orange and gold.

All in all, the coloration resembled one of those aqua punch cocktails down in Goblin's Bar in LOVELESS Plaza while the sun resembled the coloration of a tequila sunrise. A deep reddish-purple shade brushstroked across the sky while the golden clouds floated low against the deep purple shade of the ocean below.

Sunsets were gorgeous, as were sunrises. In a spiritual sense, it could be seen as a death leading into a birth, such was the cycle of the world. When living things die, they return to the planet while their spiritual energy mends with the Lifestream and circles the planet, to recreate new life and start anew. Shin-Ra prefers to water down the spiritual sense and make it more literal, like how harvesting pure life can make for a very sufficient energy source.

But sunsets and sunrises were never exactly the same. A specific life lost could not be reborn exactly as it was. Maybe with the same soul, but different features. They could not be reborn as they were before. Once more and not like before. It wasn't until the gold in the sky vanished that they landed on the outskirts of Modeohim. The sky now looked like a blueberry Vincent cocktail. Angeal wouldn't lie, he did frequent the bars from time to time, but mostly on his downtime when the nights spend in quiet silence was not pleasing in the slightest.

It had once been that way, nights he would spend alone reading a book or watching a program on the television. But when his student had come into his life, that completely changed. There were late nights full of B-movies, popcorn, and board games. There had never been a dull moment in the First's life when Zack was around. Days off that were once spent training indoors or learning a new recipe to try out had changed to dinners out and activities all around Midgar, or just joined training. He had gotten to the point where he was never alone anymore, and he had never minded that.

But now that the vivacious teen had been long gone for four months now, Angeal _hated_ being alone. He hated the silence, hated the emptiness. It was a wonder it didn't damage his work performance too bad. For the first two months he seemed unstable at best and his skills had slackened terribly. Even in the company of his friends could not stave off that loneliness for long. There had been a point when he stopped going to the training room to spar with his friends.

But two months ago, he began to pick up his broken pieces when they were starting to get a string of solid leads when it came to AVALANCHE. He took up every mission pertaining to the group and would not accept being unable to go on one. It was the thought of redemption that helped him move foreword. He just wanted to lay Zack's memory to rest, to remove that frightened face from his mind and sleep easy for once. He still had many nightmares about that night and had eventually lost count of how many times they played in his dreams.

He did have one good dream mixed in with that repeat of horror. It was just a recollection of an old memory when the two were watching some really poorly made B-movie and eating the weirdest take out on earth: Lo mein noddles with Zolom in them with a side of sweet and sour chocobo. The Second class was complaining about his fingers being cold and had pressed them to his mentor's face to ask him if they were cold, knowing very well they were.

The First retaliated by playfully pushing him off the couch and telling him that dogs weren't allowed on the furniture. The younger had pouted and called the elder a 'meanie', then stole one of his pieces of chocobo. That dream had definitely ignited the flame of retribution deep in the ravenette's heart. He was _going_ to avenge his student and lay his spirit to rest. He couldn't say the Second's spirit was trapped in limbo for sure, but he could feel it. It was unsettling and uncomfortable to say the least.

"Hey, stop thinking and get out of the helicopter already." The voice of Genesis spoke from a distance.

Angeal blinked and surveyed the area. Sephiroth and Genesis were already standing outside in the ankle deep snow and were waiting for him to get out of the chopper. The silverette had a stoic look on his face as usual, but in his eyes of bright chartreuse held the smallest look of concern buried deep within. The red-head had his hands on his hips and one of his brows arched. He didn't look concerned and bland, but a bit more antsy and less concerned.

He did care, they both did. However, they did so in their own little ways. They might not outwardly say it, but Angeal appreciated what level of concern they would show him. He removed himself from the helicopter and touched down to the snowy ground to join his friends.

"I'll be stayin' right here till y'all get back. Ya' might have ta' poke my shoulder or somethin' cause I'll be listenin' to my tunes, but I'll be here." The older gentleman said, his voice thick with a backwater dialect.

"Understood." Sephiroth spoke with a nod before turning on his heel to lead the way.

Genesis and Angeal followed suited, observing the sleepy mountain town as they made the trek to the village. It lightly began to snow as they walked, each flake falling tenderly and swirling through the air gracefully. The ravenette looked up slightly as he walked and watched as the white puffs of snow fell in slow motion. He felt like he was in the middle of a snow globe, serene, at peace. The gentle crunch of the snow under their boots, the deep grey of the sky in this area, the cold chill blowing through the air.

It never snowed in Banora or Midgar. Every chance he got he'd enjoy the powdery substance as long as he possibly could. Even if the cold made his nose run a little bit, he could put up with it in exchange for the serene beauty it provided. He looked back ahead of him and continued the trek as they began to pass through the town. Most of the villagers were already inside for the night, probably eating a late supper or putting young children to bed.

"So, where's the bath house located?" Genesis asked as his milky blue-green eyes glanced over to the silverette on his left.

"Near the edge of town." He responded cooly, not breaking eye contact from the path in front of him.

"Did Lazard give any extra information about the place?" Angeal asked as he quickened his pace slightly so he would not fall too far behind.

"Not much, just that our men could be there and that they've probably been tampered with and experimented on." Sephiroth stated bluntly.

The three fell back into quiet silence as they continued the trek to the facility. They soon left the village area and approached the back of the town close to some mountainsides. Nestled deep between them lay the bath house with a few other homes around the general area. The roof was blown off and the land untouched by snow was scarred a charcoal gray. Windows were shattered and the structure was splintered in certain places, even from the distance they were at.

They hurried their trek to more of a power-walk to get them to the blown facility faster. Angeal's heart was now beating firmly in his chest. Would they actually be able to find something this time? Or would this mission just turn out to be another dead end? Knowing how these missions panned out, he'd say it'd be best to not get his hopes up and expect the worst. As they approached the front of the building, the door was blown off its hinges and way laying a few meters away splintered in multiple places.

The three let themselves in and surveyed the damage done and what remained. The floor was stained in ash and remnants of flame. The walls were smoked black and the only light they received were bright floodlights located at the baseboards of the walls and what little bit of light the cloudy gray sky provided. Equipment was strewn about and glass littered the floor beneath their boots.

"No doubt now, this was definitely an AVALANCHE base." Genesis spoke up as he kicked aside a rotting plank in front of him.

"Stay alert and keep an eye out for any of our men, or their remains at least." Sephiroth directed as he further entered the abandoned building, looking to the left and right as he stood in the center.

"Sure." The red-head responded as he went to check another area of the building.

While his friends and brothers in arms scoured the front of the building, Angeal decided to have a look in the back. He walked down a small stretch of hall and through a doorway where no door as present. That must have been blown off its' hinges as well. This room was much brighter and more open than the other. There were a few more flickering lights that were still functional and provided a bit more glow than the floodlights. There was water flowing further back into the room. The explosion must have caused a water main to burst and fill a good portion of the room.

The back two walls were made of glass, but most of it was shattered and the steel frames warped from the heat of the blast. To his right, there was a set of stairs that lead to the pipes, probably. There was substantial damage to this area and judging by the steam rising from the massive water puddle, that water was broiling. The ravenette bypassed the room and ascended the cracked stairs. The banister was nothing more than a withered hunk of useless steel stained black.

The ground on the upper level was cracked like the dry grounds in a stretch of desert as were the walls. Some rubble lay scattered about the ruined facility as the First maneuvered over the large pieces of scattered building parts such as drywall and cement. He took note of a door that lead into the pipe room. He cautiously poked his head in and had a quick perimeter scope before fully entering the dark room.

There was a foul scent in the air that smelt of gas or garbage. Pipes lay warped and twisted into the other while copious amounts of debris lay about the floor with no pattern and in haphazard directions. There were large mounds in the corners of the room where chunks of wall and roof lay to crush the ground below. As the First made his way deeper into the mess, he noticed ruined tools and machines. He quickened his pace noting that a few of these machines looked oddly familiar.

Realization struck when he noticed that some of these tubes were just like the Mako tubes back in Midgar. A few sheets of charred paper littered the clearing where the equipment was. He scanned over them, unable to really read them since most of the writing had been burned away. He kept his eyes on the broken equipment, scanning and studying everything he possibly could. Their gun and run job was poorly coordinated as some vital peices of paper that weren't so damaged lay scattered on the floor.

He kept going until he entered a small room near the back that had been hidden behind a few out of order tubes. This room smelt heavily of ash and soot. Many bookshelves lay barren where research materials once sat. However, some folders were left on the floor in their haste to burn the ones on the shelves. Angeal snaked around a small office desk cluttered with binders, loose leaf sheets of paper and a few pencils scattered about. However, one small binder caught his eye. He glanced at the sheet of paper tucked into the clear pocket of the folder.

He snatched it up as quick as he could when the binder's contents were summarized on the title page. _'SOLDIER operatives used in experiments'_.Why would this folder not be destroyed when the rest of the facility was? Perhaps they made a fatal mistake in doing too much of a rush job on last minute's notice. Inside were the names of all the operatives they kidnapped and toyed with. This seemed suspicious, like they were leaving behind a breadcrumb trail with this information.

As he flipped and scanned the pages, many names jumped at him that he recognized as a few Firsts. Hysier, Lancastor, Matthews, and Porter all in alphabetical order. His heart lurched in his chest when he flipped to the title page that labeled the Second classes they experimented on. Noting that the names were in alphabetical order, he flipped past all of the first few pages, then immediately stopped when he came across the file of his student.

 _'Subject number #0049, Subject name: Zack Fair. Statistics: Male, 15, black hair, blue eyes, Second class SOLDIER.'_

On the left of the general information was a small photo of the youth: Deathly pale with a large gash across his neck and closed eyes. Angeal was silent as he ran his left hand over the photo of his slain puppy as his eyes continued to read through the file.

 _"Scientist Jeffrey Halling's notes, Date: 9-29-95, Time: 5:05 PM:_  
 _Locke brought in another SOLDIER. It was no new news at first, until I realized that the boy was already long dead. He looked young, and young he was. I sympathized with him on the inside, he was the same age as my own son. I'll never forget how Locke dragged him in by his hair alone, body stained with blood and clothes ripped to shreds from the skirmish before his death and detainment. My boss smiled as he slung the body in my direction, the lifeless form sliding across the ground before crumpling in on itself._

 _"This is a special one." Locke had said to me. "Even after I severed the nerves in his back his body still twitched and he still had the strength to try and move his arms. Amazing willpower, really. And he even looked over at his mentor before I slit his throat, like the man would actually be able to save him. It was almost funny in a way, like it should have been in a movie!" He had stated, laughing to himself after his comment._

 _"What do you want me to do with a corpse, Captain Shears? I cannot turn him into a Raven if he's already dead!" I had shouted, the sympathy in my voice making me sound more exhausted than anything as I used the proper way to address him._

 _"Fuhito has been working on a new process. I want this lucky bastard to be the first we use it on." Locke had declared with a motion of his hand._

 _"A new process? Why have I not been informed of this process?" I had asked suspiciously._

 _"Because it's been in the testing phase. So far we've used live candidates and it hasn't worked. But when both parties are dead we usually get some interesting results." Captain Shears had explained to me._

 _Live? Dead? I had no knowledge of this and it was beginning to make my stomach turn. I mean, turning SOLDIER into drones was sickening enough to me, but to experiment and dishonor the dead? This was a whole new level of twisted. I felt uneasy about this, so I decided to voice my concerns._

 _"Live, dead? What exactly does this project do to the specimen?" I had asked curiously, trying to bite back my fear and bile._

 _"Fuhito said if we combine the corpses of animals and humans, we can create a new form of life with the lingering spiritual energy. Depending which we use as the base and sub determines everything about the end result. Say for instance, we took a two year old rabbit and a Third class drone and made the rabbit the main with the SOLDIER as the sub, then we'd have a two year old human with the instincts and abilities of the animal and the power of SOLDIER running through its' veins. Then all we have to do from there is train them to annihilate Shin-Ra and their cohorts!"_

 _It was a long explanation, one that didn't make much sense to me at the time. There had been tests done with some small animals and a few useless Raven pawns of our own, but not an actual experiment with the enemy's resources. Now I was going to help our head scientist and mathematician Fuhito create a new life with the boy that was the same age as my son. I wanted to hurl right then and there. I stomached it, however, and nodded my head. If it was needed to be done, I had to do it. Now we're just about to start the experiment. For the dead one's sake, I hope it fails."_

Angeal flipped the page with tears brimming in his eyes. They mutilated his pup. He noticed there was another handwritten note on the back of the page. He recomposed himself and clenched his left fist tightly, readjusting his weight as he stood before continuing on.

 _"Scientist Jeffrey Halling's notes, Date: 9-30-95, Time: 1:04 AM_  
 _Well, much to my horror and dismay, the project was a success. But this wasn't right. We shouldn't be able to create life like this, it's just wrong and immoral. But who am I to talk when I'm the one helping to alter and destroy these lives? At the same time, it was astounding. The boy still retained his features from his old body. Even the thin scar across his neck that had ended him before. Fuhito and Captain Shears were cheering, excited about their success._

 _But then I realized something was wrong with the project. It might have been a flaw in the equation, an unseen factor in the reaction. But I think it was God intervening and laughing at us and at our attempts to create or merge life in an artificial fashion. But when we merged the two forms together, the human form did not overtake the animal we used like we theorized. It retained outward animal characteristics._

 _But not only that, it retained something we could have never predicted: A memory. It was fuzzy however, and couldn't be completely made out like a clear picture, but it was there none-the-less. I remember he looked at all of us in the room with big blue eyes that mirrored my own child's at that tender age. And with a little voice, he spoke._

 _"You're not him."_

 _Locke and Fuhito had shrugged it off, still elated that it worked with just a few different outcomes than what were expected. So they wanted to go right to work with training him. I'm not sure how that went, but all I know is it probably didn't go that well._

 _"Scientist Jeffrey Halling's notes, Date: 10-1-95, Time: 8:57 AM_  
 _The experiment did not go how Shears wanted. Not at all. Now, I'm staring at him beaten, bloodied, and starved. He's scared, I know it. I'd be scared too. I feed him when no one is around. He appreciates it in his own little way, but still says that 'I'm not him'. I don't know who this 'him' is, but he must be a good person to leave a fuzzy memory in his head. From what I had been told, the other tests never retained any kind of memory._

 _I've gotten word that Shin-Ra is onto us at our base here. I overheard Locke telling a few others that they were going to blow this place up with any important documentation. They said they were even going to kill off the experiments here, especially their first merged success that I had secretly been watching over. I couldn't have that, not when he reminded me of my own son. My own son died, and I didn't want to see the same fate happen to this one. So I told them that the experiment was faulty and he ended up dying when I went to check on him this morning._

 _Even if they beat him, they still looked after him so he wouldn't escape. But they believed me. The believed me when I told them he was dead. They said we had to act fast, Shin-Ra would be sending a team of their elite here in less than four hours. Our spies certainly are good at what they do. The company has no idea that we've got them under our thumb and we only let them find what we want them to find._

 _Anyways, we have to destroy every file, folder, and binder. We would start fresh in the new base, even I have no clue where it is. So with this information I've gotten, I know what to do to save the experiment and give him a chance. I found a blueprint of the bath house's layout, where the supports were strongest and where the sturdiest location was._

 _When I had that memorized, I took the experiment and hid it in the best spot in the facility: The very rear room of the pipe rooms. Even if debris were to fall, the supports in that area would hold strong and spare the project. He might be trapped under the rubble, but I knew that Shin-Ra would scour this area in every conceivable inch they could. I know their operatives will find the experiment. At first, when I told it to stay there and not move no matter what, it wouldn't listen to me._

 _Then I told it 'He will come for you if you stay right here'. I don't know why I said it, and honestly, I didn't even know those words left my mouth. My brain just worked and made my mouth move. But I believed what I said. I had a gut feeling this 'him' was in SOLDIER. The experiment immediately listened to me and sat perfectly still after that._

 _They're fixing to bomb the building. I told them I would take care of the files myself. They agreed to that without a second thought. However, to atone for what I've done here and for the lives I've had to mutilate, I am going to leave this binder out in plain sight and allow Shin-Ra to find both this, and the experiment. This is the least I can do for altering their people in this way._

 _When I agreed to be a scientist for AVALANCHE, I thought we were going to find counteractive measures to keep the planet safe from the Mako Reactors. No, this is mutiny. This is a war in the making, I know it. We're just opposing bloodshed with more bloodshed and calling it 'justice' and 'for the planet'. We are no better than they are in the end. If you ask me, we're worse than them._

 _Now, I'm going to end this note, but before I do, this last bit if information is for any SOLDIER operative that finds both this note and this binder._

 _Take this binder with you. Not only does it tell you which SOLDIERs have been taken, killed, or experimented on, but further inside I have enclosed some future plans that AVALANCHE is in the making of. I do not know much, but I know it is big, and my gut is telling me they might just realize that their 'failed' experiment will end up being a success sometime in the future. If I can, I will leave breadcrumbs for the enemy to follow if they can ever find our newest base._

 _I hope you can forgive me for going rouge and abandoning the company, president Shin-Ra. But I believed stealing the planet's life was wrong, but now that I am on the other side, the grass is certainly not greener. In fact, it is more withered than you could possibly imagine. This is former Scientist Jeffrey Halling under the former tutelage of professor Gast saying I'm sorry. And good luck._

 _One more thing. The location of the experiment is further beyond this room. Keep going past the shambled equipment and you will find it. I hope it will be of some use to you in some way."_

Angeal snapped the binder shut and sniffed thickly. He couldn't believe it. Not only did they mutilate his pup, but now he was suddenly _alive_. And by the sounds of it, was able to remember him. Well, that's what he gathered anyways. He had to find him immediately and report his findings back to his friends. He held on to the black coated binder in his left hand and removed himself from the file room. Jeffrey Halling, he couldn't say he knew the name. He must have been working at Shin-Ra but then defected before the ravenette could remember.

He followed the note in the binder past all of the ruined equipment and went further back into the pipe room. There was a larger clearing here and the space inside was much larger. The First no longer felt cramped or suffocated. However, rubble lay scattered and flung in every direction. Pipes, bits or ceiling, roof, and wall stacked upon themselves to create large mounds of garbage. The moon washed in through the gap in the ceiling, the snow stopped and the clouds gone.

He stepped further into the room, the echo of his boots ran throughout the spacious room and bounced off each pile of trash. He looked at the larger piles with hope filling his chest. His heart was beating softly in his chest, feeling more like a fluttering than a pounding. Was Zack really alive?

"Is there anyone in here?" He found himself calling out as he continued to scan each pile of destroyed building.

His own echoed voice greeted him, soon followed by hope-shattering silence. Angeal exhaled heavily before trying again, asking the same question as before, but adding 'I won't hurt you' at the end. He was met with the same reverberation as before. All hope left the First as defeat sunk deep into his bones as he felt his chest ache. His stomach dropped, sinking down low. It felt like all his butterflies just died in that instant. He turned on his heel, getting ready to leave the spacious room before he heard the faintest of noises.

He whipped back around as fast as he could without getting dizzy and listened intently for another sound, another clue. He heard it again. It sounded like the whimpering of a puppy dog crying for its' mother when it still couldn't see. The noise was coming from the largest pile of rubble in the northwest corner of the room and it vanished as quick as it came. Angeal broke out into a dead sprint as his heart beat in double time, hammering against his rib cage erratically.

He threw the binder to the side and all but dove at the massive pile, flinging bits of concrete and steel out of his way as he dug like he had never dug before. Adrenaline began to pump through his blood to only make his heart beat like it was going into cardiac arrest. He wasn't aware of how deep he dug until he realized half of his body was wedged into the gaping hole he had created. He paused momentarily, just to see if he was closer to the source of the sound.

When another little whimper echoed from just about right in front of him, he threw those last pieces of rubble out of his way and allowed the full moon's light to wash in. He stopped dead in his tracks when he came face to face with someone he never expected to see again, but with some altercations.

Curled up tightly and embracing his knees to hide his face was none other than his student. However, he was the age of a young child with an interesting set of external features. Two fuzzy black ears sat atop his head and twitched when a stray pebble rang off a piece of warped steel. A bushy black tail lay stationary behind him, not moving even in the slightest bit. All he had to cover himself was a pair of tattered looking beige shorts that look just about ready to fall off his little waist.

He slowly raised his head and opened up his eyes, that Mako blue still shining bright and strong as before, if not brighter. He blinked once as his right ear gently twitched. Then all of a sudden, the child's eyes brightened tremendously as a large smile consumed his face.

"You're him!" He cried with elation as his tail began to wag with his joy.

Angeal could have sworn he stopped breathing in that moment in time. His student _did_ remember him. Maybe not entirely, but the child could at least tell that he was a familiar figure and he could trust him. He reached out his gloved right hand cautiously, as if he was actually warming up to a frightened dog. His puppified student stared at the large hand coming towards him and as it stopped and hovered right in front of him, the little one let out a little laugh and nuzzled his face into it, tail wagging even faster now.

"Zack..." Angeal breathed shakily.

He then removed his hand away from the child and used his other one to lightly grab the child and lift him from the hole he dug in the rubble and out into fresh air. He was covered in dirt and pebbles with grime and remnants of blood caked to his skin, but that wasn't anything a good scrub down couldn't fix.

"Do you know who I am?" the First asked his former student as he held him in the air at arms length, taking in the sight that he really was here and alive.

"Mmm, you're him! I dunno who you is exactly, but I know you!" He squealed as his tail continued to wag as fast as it could.

"Do you know who you are, or what your name is?" Angeal inquired as he brought him down from the air and to solid ground.

"Nnnn, nopey-dopey~! But I know you, somehows!" The little one responded in a chipper fashion as he pointed to the SOLDIER with a big grin.

Through the younger ravenette's grin, the older could see tiny little canine teeth gently poking from below his upper lip. From the features on his former student, he could guess that they merged his body with that of a wolf or dog of some sorts.

"Your name is Zack, and mine is Angeal. You know, I've been looking for you for a long time now." The ravenette said as he took a knee to be eye-level with the child.

"Oooh! Okay! Your name sounds super familiar! And I think mine does too, but you're him! Er, you're Angeal and I know you somehows!" Zack responded happily as he began to bounce in place while that tail continued to wag, his ears remaining poised upright atop his head.

"That's right, and now that I found you, I'm not letting you slip away this time, puppy." He said with a nod of his head as his hand rested in between the pup's ears and ruffled the hair below.

"That tickles~!" the wolf-hybrid exclaimed before he started giggling.

Angeal knew he needed to get back to his friends, he had been gone for quite some time. Knowing he had to get a move on and get serious again, he reclaimed the discarded binder from near the rubble mound. Zack bounded along next to him and watched him check to see if all of the necessary documents were in there. When they were accounted for, the ravenette bent down and swooped the child into his broad arms, which let out a 'woah!' before giggling again.

The First class then made his way out of the pipe rooms and towards the entrance of the building. Now he would not have to lay his student's memory to rest. Now he wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

* * *

A/N: And there's chapter two for you guys! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed typing it up! :) If you have questions or comments, please leave them in a review so I can see em and answer em!

So drop a line, leave a review, type a response and let me know what you guys thought of it and think about it currently! It's super duper appreciated! :)

With that said, until the next chappie everyone!

Toodles!  
~Zimithrus1


	3. III: Session

Huzzah! Chapter three is out and ready for a reading! :D I've gone over my last two chapters and noticed some _excruciatingly painful_ spelling errors I did not catch until I received a flame. Yup, a flame. Now telling me how I spelled Hewley wrong was fine, but to come out and say I need to put down my computer, be excited for the eighth grade and quit writing? Kinda pushing it there dude. I've got a lot of patience, but flames wear me thin _real_ freakin' fast. Next time, use a profile so we can talk it out like adults instead of hide behind an anonymous guest review and act like a child.

With that out of the way, I hope you guys enjoy the chappie! :) Oh, and forgive my little rant up there, I just call it like I see it -_-

* * *

~III: Session~

"Angeal, whats do you do?" Zack asked from his spot in the ravenette's broad arms as he was carried out of the pipe room and further towards the front of the ruined facility.

"What do you mean by that, pup?" The First asked as he briefly looked him in his bright blue eyes before looking back ahead of him to see where he was currently going.

"Mmm! You know! Whats do you do? Mister Jeff was a scientist-ist, what does you do?" The puppified child asked, stammering over the larger words in his inquiry before sticking his tongue out to try and gently repeat the word 'scientist' correctly.

Angeal couldn't resist a deep baritone chuckle before he responded with, "I'm a SOLDIER." as he readjusted the child in his arms to sit more on his right hip while keeping him cradled close.

" _Ooooh!_ Okay! ...What's a swoldier?" Zack asked as his right fuzzy ear twitched when an itch developed around it.

"It's like a really strong warrior. I fight battles and keep the peace in the city of Midgar, which is where we are going now." The elder responded to the young one as he gently rubbed at the twitchy ear that contained the itch.

"Ooohh! That means you've seen a lotta blood, haven't you, Angeal?" The wolf-hybrid queried as he looked him square in his eyes of deep midnight's blue.

"I have." He simply responded as he broke out of the pipe rooms and into the boiler and bath room he had once been in before.

"Have you ever seen anybodys get killed?" He asked with big eyes as his ears shot straight up atop his head.

The First class stopped in his tracks, images flashing before his eyes like a haze he could not see past. _The Second's eyes glanced quickly to his mentor. They were filled with fright, pain, and yearning. His left hand slowly began to reach out to him, like if they could just reach then it would be all okay. He saw Locke take that blade and slit Zack's throat with it._

 _The scarlet liquid spurt out in haphazard directions and patterns as the teen's electric blue eyes pulled away from his teacher long enough to roll into the back of his head and his body fell limp, left hand dropping to the ground as his fingers twitched gently as the life drained out of him and swirled all around his figure._

 _Being dragged away by the hair like an old toy._

"Angeal?" Zack voiced gently, using one of his small hands to gently pat at the older ravenette's right cheek to get him to snap out of his revere.

The First resurfaced from his memories with a jolt and a shake. He drew in a shaky breath before locking his eyes with those cornflower blue ones just a few inches away from his own. He grinned a little grin that did not reach his eyes and seemed more forlorn than anything. The child cocked his head to the right as one ear flattened to his head while the other remained poised in an upright position.

"I've seen many bad things and done just as many, Zack. Now, we better get a move on or we'll be late." He spoke, adding that last bit to distract his own derailed thoughts as he began to walk again.

The puppified child piped down, both ears flat against his head as a little bit of regret shone through his big blue eyes from his earlier question and how it made the older man react. With a gentle hand, he reached up and patted the ravenette on the head a few times in a tender manner. He succeeded in drawing out a tiny smirk that barely made his eyes shimmer like the deep indigos of an evening sky after a frightening storm had passed. That smirk made the boy's tail wag once more as a little giggle echoed from the back of his throat.

They emerged from the back room and towards the front again where he saw his two friends by the door conversing with each other. From their visual movements, Angeal could tell the two came up empty handed in their search for answers or remains even. He knew he was going to get some pretty confused looks when he made his presence known.

"You'll never guess who I found." The ravenette called out whenever he was in earshot of his two friends as he continued to saunter towards them without a care in the world.

As soon as their eyes of green and blue locked on to their friend, but more specifically the child coiled in his arms, jaws slackened and brows shot up to their hairlines.

"Angeal, who is that child?" Sephiroth quickly asked as his surprise quickly faded into a deep frown: His natural expression for any kind of heightened emotion.

"If you take a look at this, you'll get the whole story." The First class responded as he held out the small black binder for his comrades to look over.

The General was the one to take the offered folder and flip it open as Genesis slightly leaned in closer to get a glance at what was inside as well. The silverette scanned through the first few pages of the binder's contents before freezing on a page that Angeal just knew was the page that he froze on as well. The red-head Commander had varying facial expressions as he read through the report while the black-clad First kept his face frozen in that scowl.

It then snapped with a shut as Sephiroth looked up from the black casing of the folder, his questions of the child in his friend's arms answered. Not only that, but now they were aware of which SOLDIER's had gone missing or been experimented on. This Halling was kind to leave this vital piece of the puzzle behind in a battle believed to be completely one-sided.

"So, it seems that the pup is in all reality, a pup. What do you plan to do with this child-like version of your student? He may still retain his Mako and a few skills, but he is now just a child." Genesis brought up as he stared at the wolf-hybrid wagging his tail and smiling.

"I plan to bring him back to Shin-Ra and perhaps continue to keep him in my quarters, but after that I'm not too sure. It's not like I can inform his family that he's alive, they've already been given notice of his passing. He cannot resume training and duties like he once did before due to AVALANCHE's experiments..." Angeal expressed, humming in deep thought after trailing off.

What _could_ he do with a wolf-child hybrid? Because of this, he had technically lost his Second class SOLDIER status and what had once been his greatest dream: To become a hero. Now he was just a small child with no knowledge of who he was before except for the ravenette himself, but even that was a hazy image at best. It was just like hitting reset and starting over completely and from the very beginning. He had to restart his relationship with his student turned child.

After an ear ringing pause of silence, the General was the one to break the ice and speak what needed to be spoken. "Please keep this thought in your subconsious, my friend. Due to the tampering of his physical state he might not even be allowed in Shin-Ra, let alone continue to remain under your care."

Angeal was all ears after hearing that brutally true remark. Subconsciously, his broad arms swarmed around Zack tighter as the little pup smiled a bright and toothy grin while his tail wagged fast. This small action did not go unnoticed by the two standing before their ragged friend. To think he had lost his student and was only out to find his lifeless body now just had that life returned to him in some form. Now he was being told the brutal truth that he might not even be able to resume where he left off with the young one.

"Ultimately, the decision is up to the president. Lazard may be the director of SOLDIER and might be able to vouch in your favor, but president Shin-Ra has the final say so in any matter." Genesis reminded him as he agreed with his silver-haired friend's statement.

"He _has_ to let Zack stay in Shin-Ra. He still has Mako coursing in his veins." Angeal rationalized with desperation masked by blind hope.

"I hate to argue with you, Angeal, but there are many children out on the streets with a raw introduction to the substance. However, what they are exposed too is not as refined and synthesized as we possess, it is still Mako none-the-less." Genesis brought up, knowing how many times he had run into children with more of a green glow in their eyes than the normal blue that purer forms of Mako granted.

The ravenette exhaled heavily as he broke eye contact from his only friends and down to the pup in his arms wrapped up securely without a care in the world. Those big electric blue eyes glanced up at him with a glimmer and shine like the crack of lightning across and black streaked sky. Surely the president wouldn't toss him out just because of these changes.

"We'd better hurry back before our pilot decides to leave without us, I hate being out in the cold anyways." Genesis spoke up as he turned on his heel and began to walk out of the ruined facility.

"You say the same thing about the heat in Costa when we vacation there in the summer." Sephiroth retorted in his own way of showing he was making a joke.

Angeal followed the red-headed Commander out of the abandoned building with the General at his side and his former student in his arms. It had started to snow again and blanket the world in luminescent white while the sky above was choked a midnight's black. The wolf-hybrid stuck out his left hand and watched as a tiny flake landed in the palm of his hand before quickly melting away. Awe spread across his face like the snow on the ground before he stuck his tongue out to catch a flake like that.

When one landed on the organ, it melted faster than the flake that evaporated in his hand. He pulled it back into his mouth with a giggle as his tail wagged so fast it was more of a blur than anything. The walk back to the chopper seemed shorter than the walk towards the bath house just a few measly hours ago. The return trip always seemed longer than the start of the journey. Both their pilot and their helicopter lay waiting in the same spot they last saw it in. Cramming into the small mode of transportation was no easy feat with an agitated red-head and a newer addition to try and squeeze in.

After a bit of a shaky ascent, the helicopter was soon high in the air and above all of the clouds pouring their load of snow down on the earth below. Sephiroth and Genesis were sitting on one cramped side of the chopper while Angeal occupied the other side with Zack sitting still in his lap and looking rather lethargic. The red-head was complaining about the lack of space in the cabin again and was barking a few insults at Sephiroth and how his seven foot long katana; Masamune, took up too much space. The silverette was just barely smirking and keeping his eyes closed.

"Angeal, I'm tired..." The pup spoke up with a thickness in his voice that could only come from drowziness as he rubbed his right eye with the heel of his palm.

Without words, the ravenette gently wrapped his large hands around the young child's waist and scooted him off his lap and to the empty space on his right. He then gently coaxed the wolf-hybrid to lay his head on his lap and close his eyes. Zack made sure to grab hold of the older man's hand and hold it in his own small ones as he drifted off fast and without fuss.

"Sleep well, puppy." He responded softly as his other hand gently ran through those raven black spikes in a comforting and lulling manner through the entire chopper ride back to Midgar.

* * *

It wasn't until the clock read midnight that Angeal arrived back in his own housing quarters on the fifty-ninth floor. Even though the hours of the night had changed into early hours of the following morning, the three Firsts were still required to debrief their mission to the director and report their findings.

After reporting to Lazard that they had found something big, he had stated that the president informed them that it could not wait until morning and must be discussed immediately. He had only stopped by his quarters to lay his student to rest in his old room. His flat contained two rooms since he was -or had been- enrolled in the Student/Mentor program.

The former Second class's room had been still been untouched by time since that fateful mission four months ago. The metallic jade green covers on the full sized bed were heaped on the floor on the left side of the bed. The small desk he often had the teen fill out his paperwork for any of his missions was cluttered with an assortment of old textbooks from his earlier days of study before he made SOLDIER. A few unfinished mission documents lay scattered about the pine colored surface and even lay motionless on the tan carpet below.

Ever since his student had been murdered and his body taken away, Angeal refused to enter this room, let alone even open the door. He didn't want the memories and the nightmares to assault him just by glancing inside. But now that his former student turned half-wolf was sleeping securely in his arms, he could face the music again. He carried the catatonic hybrid to the bed and laid him down. The large mattress seemed to make his small body shrink even more so. He had once been able to stretch out and almost be too big for this bed, but now that was a different story.

He pulled up the covers from the floor and draped them over the little one, tucking them in by his shoulders. The pup's left ear twitched before falling completely still as it once was. The ravenette couldn't resist gently rubbing the fuzzy appendage in between his right index finger and thumb. The notion caused the sleeping child to smile as one of his canines gently poked out from behind his little grin.

The First did not do this for long before pulling away and turning on his heel. As he began to walk out of the room, his left boot gently collided with something soft as the smallest jingling noise could be heard. He glanced down to only find himself grinning softly with slightly watering eyes. The former SOLDIER's infamous chocobo plush. He once did not know his former student had possessed something so, child-like and innocent at his age.

 _0600 hours and they already had a mission lined up for them. It was a simple extermination task located in the slums of sector six. A few guard hounds had broken out of the labs late last night and were now causing people that lived in sector five to be late for work or other obligations. It was a walk in the park for Angeal, but it technically wasn't his mission. It was his newly appointed Third class student's mission._

 _It was a rather stormy morning today. The sky was suffocated with ash-gray rain clouds and the wind was howling harsh and strong today. It sounded like a droning howl of a lost bandersnatch while the rain sounded like a raging river. The thunder was louder than a booming war drum and sounded more like the ricocheting 'ping' of a shotgun being fired. Either that, or a bazooka. A few claps of thunder even had the First slightly jump and check for signs of exploding mines or guns firing._

 _Knowing they didn't have much time to waste to get the mission finished with and were already running a bit behind schedule, Angeal left his room fully dressed in his uniform before making his way down the hall and to his student's room. He rapped against the door with three loud knocks before opening the door and glancing inside._

 _What he saw even had him thrown for a bit of a surprise. Zack was curled up into a tight ball with his eyes scrunched shut tight and had a small toy in his tight clutches. Was his student afraid of thunderstorms? That couldn't be right, he always boasted about how dauntless he was and how nothing scared him in the slightest. Not only that, but was that a chocobo plush wrapped up in his broad arms? The scene seemed almost out of character for the vivacious teen._

 _"Zack!" Angeal called with his best Commander voice._

 _The ravenette instantly opened his eyes. There was a brief moment of silence cutting through the air like high tension as the two stared at each other. All of a sudden, the Third class stuffed the stuffed bird under his pillow with a small yelp, like he was hiding some dirty little secret before pulling his blankets over his head and hiding himself. When a clap of thunder boomed like the blast of a mine going off, the lump under the green covers moaned a little and curled the blankets tighter around his growing frame._

 _"Zack, we have a mission." Angeal spoke when the rumble faded away and left the sound of pelting rain dripping off the building from outside instead._

 _His student refused to answer and remained hiding under his blanket without a sound._

 _"Zackary-"_

 _"Please get out..." Was the muttered interruption his superior officer was given._

 _"What?" Angeal questioned, completely baffled at the response he had been given. The teen may be reckless and impulsive, but he never disobeyed his mentor and always did as he was told._

 _"Just get out!" He cried with a shaking voice that sounded more pitiful than demanding._

 _The First was just about to question the Third's behavior until the next crash of thunder did the explaining for him. The younger ravenette squirmed under the blankets again and dug his head underneath his pillow to further hide himself. The fourteen year old did possess a fear of thunderstorms, and knowing how the teen thought, was probably embarrassed or ashamed that his mentor had caught him acting so childish._

 _Angeal did not leave the room. He walked in quietly and paused in front of the younger ravenette's bed. He gently sat against the foot of the mattress and gazed at the lump that was his pupil. When the younger felt the weight near the edge of his bed, he pulled his head up from its hiding spot and pitifully glared at his mentor. His face was flushed a feverish red as translucent tear tracks stained his cheeks. His cornflower blue eyes were bloodshot and filled to the brim with copious amounts of salty tears._

 _"Please leave, I don't want you to see me like this." He choked out, voice cracking sharply._

 _"Do not be ashamed. It's perfectly fine to cry every once in awhile." The twenty-three year old told him reassuringly._

 _"No it's not! You never cry, Ang'! You aren't scared of anything!" Zack shouted as he tried to wipe away the tracks of tears on his face like he as erasing the evidence of his weakness._

 _"That's not entirely true, pup. I have my own fears and demons to contend with." The First spoke, speaking the truth._

 _"Really? I find that super hard to believe. What the heck are you scared of anyways?" The ravenette denied with a roll of his irritated eyes of bright blue._

 _"A lot of situations involving_ _ **you**_ _tend to rile me up." He said with a baritone chuckle as he patted the Third's left leg._

 _That caused a blush, not from tears or agitation, but from a sheepish kind of embarrassment to flourish across his face in a feverish fashion as he broke eye contact with his superior._

 _"So, was that a chocobo plush I saw before you buried the poor thing underneath your pillow?" The older man questioned with another gruff laugh._

 _"Maybe..." Zack muttered as he reached under the puffy pillow and pulled out his stuffed companion._

 _It wasn't very big, maybe eight inches in height. It looked plush and soft and had lots of wear and tear all over the thing. What the First class could assume used to be a golden yellow color was now more of a faded pale yellow. It had a few bald spots near the neck and plumage of the dated toy and with further observation, the older could see stitches and patchwork all around the bird's tail feathers and wings._

 _When the ravenette gently moved the toy, the sounds of a broken rattle could be heard sloshing around in the old stuffing like water being shaken in a container. Obviously, the toy was about as old as the Third class himself and had seen many years of rough love and plenty of wear and tear and would continue to receive more years of tattered age._

 _"How pathetic is this, A Third class SOLDIER that still sleeps with a stuffed animal." Zack muttered under his breath as he looked at the floor to his right._

 _"I find it endearing. This just proves how much of a puppy you really are I suppose." Angeal spoke with a grin._

 _"Yeah, thanks, Angeal." The ravenette spoke sarcastically with another roll of his brightening blue eyes, his earlier fear all but washed away now._

He gently turned back on his heel and placed the old toy next to his puppified former student, the toy gently rattling as if speaking to greet its owner after going so long without him. Zack gently turned over and nuzzled his face into the old, yet soft material of the toy. A bigger smile stretched across his face as he snuggled into it as his left ear twitched once more.

Knowing he had spent enough time reminiscing, the First stepped out of the room and gently cracked the door behind him. With that, he made his way out of his quarters and locked the door behind him. He took quick strides to reach the elevator. The sooner they briefed Lazard and the president, the sooner he could get a verdict on the issue with his revived and experimented former student. He could only pray to the Goddess that the president wasn't all that insensitive and allowed the Mako enhanced wolf-hybrid to stay.

* * *

A/N: And there's a wrap on chapter three! I hope you guys enjoyed it :) I planned on making this one a little bit longer, but I figured here would be a good stopping point since what I've got planned out might even be longer than this chappie!

So don't forget to drop a line, leave a review, or type a response and let me know what you guys thought and think! Every bit helps my muse! :3 If you must find something to correct, please use some concrit instead of a flame, I take those better :)

Until the next chapter, everyone!

Toodles!  
~Zimithrus1


	4. IV: Revelation

Hello everyone! And may I welcome you to another chapter of Puppy Days! :D Thanks to everyone that has faved, followed, reviewed, or given me pointers on how to improve! :3 With pleasantries aside, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! :)

* * *

~IV: Revelation~

As Angeal stood inside the moving elevator drawing closer towards the seventieth floor, he couldn't help but think frantically about what the president himself would say when he told him about his student. Not only would he have to explain it to him, but the SOLDIER director as well. He was meeting the three, plus president, in the uppermost floor inside Shin-Ra to hear the urgent news of their latest discovery. The slightly fretful First class found himself clenching and relaxing his hands from fists and back again. He exhaled heavily and willed himself to calm down.

It did not do much in the end and only made his hands work overtime to roll into fists before flexing back out. The ravenette was usually patient with a level-head and not prone to such heights of anxiousness, but when it came to the future and well-being of his student, he couldn't help but to fear the unknown. His eyes of midnight navy glanced to the red numbers that displayed the floor he was currently on. He was at sixty-four and continuing to rise fast, nearly too fast for his liking.

He even found himself jumping ever so slightly when the elevator bell dinged to inform him he was on his designated floor. He exhaled once more and steeled his nerve. He curled his gloved hands into fists tightly and allowed the bite of his nails to sting through the leather fabric. He set his eyes firm and walked out of the steel box on floor sixty-nine, right above the labs but right below the final floor of the building. His steps echoed off the spacious reinforced walls as he walked.

He made sure to correct his sway as he walked, keeping it powerful and sure: The embodiment of what he stood for and represented. He ascended the purple colored stairs on the left and made his way up to seal his puppified student's fate. He had to shake his head to himself. He couldn't keep referring to Zack as his student anymore, that title was taken from him when he had his throat slit and his previous life ended. He reached the top of the stairs and found himself staring down the large doors that stood between himself and the president. He gulped up another greedy intake of air before pushing the doors open an entering.

Sephiroth and Genesis were already standing before the president's massive desk with Lazard standing next to the rather hefty man. When they heard the sounds of the door swinging open, all eyes were pulled up and watching as the last First made his way down the small stretch of hall before standing on the empty space next to the General on his left. He stood tall and firm, keeping his eyes set and unreadable, at least for now.

"So, it has come to my attention that you three have finally found some decent information?" President Shinra began, rest his elbows against his desk and folding his hands together as he looked at each SOLDIER.

"We have, Sir." Genesis spoke up with a nod, getting the ball rolling.

"Do not waste any time, tell me what you found." He responded quickly, his tone rather impatient.

Sephiroth took the floor at that point. He stepped up to the president's desk and held out the black binder for him to take. The husky man took the cardboard folder into his hands and gazed at the title. Lazard gently leaned in from the left of the bigger man and read over his shoulder, a small choke from the back of his throat making itself known when the words set in.

Shinra skimmed over the first few pages to see the losses in the First class department. While Lazard continued to read over his shoulder and take each loss into account. When reaching the Second class section, the president thrust the binder at the SOLDIER director to take while his hard expression darkened even more so.

"This was all you managed to find? Just names of people already long dead? This information is not what I was expecting." He criticized as as leaned back in his leather chair and folded his arms across his chest.

"That is not all, Sir. If you just keep reading through than you'll find-" Genesis began.

"More names and no progress on snuffing out these pathetic worms and where their main force of operation is?" The stout man interrupted with a scoff that could have passed as a growl of annoyance.

"No, we'll find treason and something borderline between what is impossible and what is unheard of." Lazard spoke as he quickly showed a particular file to the president.

The three Firsts standing before him could just see the smoke steaming and billowing out of his ears as his face flushed a blotchy red. His beady black eyes furrowed down even further as he started to represent more of an enraged bull than man.

" _What?_ Halling betrayed us to work for the enemy?!" Shinra cried with fury as his right fist slammed down against his steel desk, causing a metallic reverberation to echo through the large room.

"Not only that. But it seems that they were able to bring back a Second class from the dead and alter him. It seems Halling is looking for salvation, and leaving some inconspicuous bread crumbs for us to follow is his apology for abandoning the company." Lazard explained as he finished looking over the file and handed it back to the president who took it hastily.

"Fair, is he really alive, and does he look as the report states?" The director asked to either three before them, standing still and silent.

"He is. Everything stated in the file is true." Angeal spoke up, taking the floor with a bit of a shake in his voice.

"I assume Fair is that one Second class with the extensive file." Shinra spoke up as he found the page the former Second's info was on.

"He is. We've brought him back to the company. I want to resume looking out for him as I once did. He may have been experimented with and made younger and different than before, but I believe he can still be a valuable asset to this company."Angeal explained, taking a step forward as he spoke. He needed this to go in his favor. He finally got his student back, he couldn't loose him again.

When he saw the president sigh loudly and put a hand up to his face, the First class knew he was already loosing the battle.

"While I have heard that Fair was rather, promising in his abilities and attributes in his reports, he is now nothing more than a child with freakish features." Shinra grunted out as he crossed one leg over the other at the ankle as he sat.

"With all due respect Sir, Zack still has Mako coursing through his veins. He's seen into AVALANCHE's inner workings and if that report states correctly, there could be a possibility that his experimentations will be more than just for naught." Angeal challenged gently, keeping his hysteria under control for now. His voice was barely beginning to quiver. Undetected by the president and Lazard, but not his friends.

"Children in the slums have Mako in their viens as well, Commander. While I agree that Fair could still be of great use to the company in some way, I do not have the final say so in the matter." Lazard spoke uneasily, wanting to vouch in the former Second class's favor, but being unable to do much.

"You know the rules, Commander Hewley. We do not accept children under the age of fourteen to even attempt being an infantryman. Even if it seems to be a special case or former employee." The president stated in a husky baritone.

"I disagree, President. For I was admitted into the program when I was only a minor ten years of age." Sephiroth spoke up, words flowing eloquently like a serene stream.

The stout man leaned back even further into his chair while a long exhale blew through his nose for a good few seconds. The General did have some point to his statement. However, age and power was the main factor here. He would only even _think_ of letting the former Second back into the program if he wasn't too young or weak.

"Tell me then, how old did these experiments make him? Does he even retain his former strength or battle-hardened wits and experience?" Shinra inquired, his patience beginning to run ragged and steam straight out of his ears.

"From my calculations, I would guess four or five. The experience I am not sure of, but I can-" Angeal began, only to be interrupted by the president scoffing loudly.

" _Four?_ " You are asking me for too much to allow Fair to continue staying here as if he was still SOLDIER. With the way he is now, he was better off staying dead." He snorted with slanting beady black eyes.

Angeal had to use all of his self control to keep from walking up to the stout man, punching him in the face till his nose came out the back of his skull, and shouting at him and calling him close-minded. He willed those dishonorable thoughts to the back of his head and focused his pent up agitation in his hands, going to flex and curl them up again as he diverted his eyes elsewhere. He could feel Sephiroth gently shift from where he stood, feeling his friend's distress rolling off him like waves and not liking it one bit.

"Give Fair a chance." The General demanded, hardening his green eyes down hard while his pupils shrank to cat slits.

Angeal may not have much sway when it came to his former student, but Sephiroth was an entirely different story. He was the president's go-to man for any kind of situation and was highly revered by just about anyone that had ever heard of him or spoken his name. If anyone could sway the president, even in the slightest, it was him.

"...Fine. _Fine!_ He will be given an assessment in the next two days. I would make it at the start of tomorrow morning, but I must check up on affairs in Junon. He better be ready and you better not be wasting my time. For the time being, keep him inside and do not let him out. We can't have word of a SOLDIER long dead running around alife and perfectly fine. Think of the media crisis!" Shinra warned before he began to ramble a bit near the end as thought of the media putting them in a bad light ate away at his head.

"Right then, I believe that's all we needed to hear." Lazard told them, giving the permission to leave.

Genesis spun on his heel and began to leave, not bothering for salutes or pleasantries. Sephiroth gave a slow nod before turning away to follow the red-head out of the spacious room. Angeal gave a sharp salute before turning tail and booking it out of there. As soon as those large doors slammed shut, the ravenette let out a pent up breath he had been holding in. He glanced to his right to see his friends lingering about and giving him their own version of concerned looks: Impatient and quizzical.

"Thank you for the intervention, Sephiroth." He spoke with genuine emotion now that they were behind closed doors.

"Think nothing of it. However, there is not much I will be able to do if your student cannot pass whatever obstacles the president will throw him against. If he does not make it, there is not much I can do." He explained honestly as his eyes returned to the normal spherical shape they were supposed to be.

" _My friend, the fates are cruel._ " Genesis quoted at the most opportunistic time as his stormy blue eyes locked with his friends.

"I don't think there isn't a day that goes by where he _doesn't_ quote LOVELESS, regardless of the situation." Angeal responded with a smirk tugging at the right corner of his lips.

"Hmph, how your words wound me, my friend. I will remember this in our next sparring match. Until then, farewell." The red-headed Commander spoke eloquently in a playful fashion. With that, he made his way to the elevator without another word or quote.

"I will take my leave as well. Until next time." Sephiroth spoke, bidding farewell with a soft nod of his head before following his friend towards the elevator.

Angeal met his nod with one of his own before breaking away without a word. He just wanted to get back to his quarters now more than anything and check up on the child sleeping away.

* * *

As soon as the ravenette stopped in front of the door to his living quarters, he could tell something was amiss. He narrowed his eyes slightly, having a hunch of what seemed to be off in the atmosphere. He fished out his key card from his pocket and swiped it through the scanner next to the steel door made to look like wood. It beeped once before a red light turned green as the lock unclicked from inside. He gripped the doorknob in his right fist and pushed open the door.

The living room was cold and quiet, as it had been when he had left. However, he noticed a strobe of soft fluorescent light coming from the kitchen. He made sure to walk fast, but softly, so he would not alert anyone of his presense. He gently peeked his head into the open kitchen and couldn't help but sigh in a heavy fashion as his left index finger and thumb pinched the bridge of his nose as if he had a sudden migraine.

Zack sat criss-cross on the kitchen floor in front of the refrigerator. His chocobo was tucked under his left arm and wrapped up in his right was a small tub of ice-cream. His back was facing the SOLDIER and his bushy black tail was wagging fast and strong. Angeal leaned against the wooden arch that separated the kitchen from the living room and crossed his legs at the ankles as his arms folded across his chest.

When he cleared his throat, the puppy child yelped gently and glanced over his shoulder with a 'deer caught in the headlights' look. His mouth and cheeks were stained a light pink and the sticky mess had dribbled down to his exposed chest and tattered shorts. The melting desert was even smeared into the tiles around the little one and was beginning to form puddles around his small frame. His tail halted and his fuzzy black ears shot straight up.

"And what do you think you're doing up this late at night eating all my ice-cream?" He questioned in a parental manner as one eyebrow gently arched and rose. Now he regretted having a refrigerator that contained the freezer on the bottom instead of the top.

"I gots hungry." Zack responded innocently as a blob of the strawberry concoction dribbled down his cheek to land against his dirtied shorts.

"You shouldn't have been hungry because you were sleeping when I last checked on you." Angeal explained to the child as he observed the mess all over his former student and the floor.

"I woke up and got hungrys." He said truthfully as he turned himself around to continue keeping eye contact with the older man. He just managed to smear the puddles underneath him across the floor and into the fabric of his shorts.

"That's not really the problem here. Just look at the mess you've made!" Angeal pointed out as he used his hands to motion to the bright pink desert melting all over the floor.

Zack adopted a wounded expression as his ears flattened against his head. He clutched the half empty carton of ice-cream like it was a lifeline as his tail curled against his backside and his leg as well. He looked up through his bangs in a shamed manner as his famous pout resurfaced.

"I... I sorries, Angeal." he apologized with a quivering voice.

The First class had to gently break his gaze from the puppy child as he looked down, having to pretend to be a little annoyed. If anything, he couldn't stand looking at that pout. It was endearing, and it was bad enough before, but now he actually had ears and a tail to compliment that sad look.

"I suppose I needed to clean the kitchen and give you a good scrub down anyways..." Angeal responded, unintentionally caving in to that pout as he stopped leaning against the arch to stand up straight and approach his puppified student.

Zack's eyes lit up brighter than the cosmos as his shame vanished as quick as it came. His ears returned to their natural spot atop his head while his furry black tail began to wag happily, smearing the melting ice-cream across the floor and into the fur of his tail. When the First class had stopped in front of the young one, little hands reached up towards him as a bright smile spread across his face.

Angeal pretended to be exasperated as he bent down and picked the four-year old up, being careful not to get too clingy so that sticky ice-cream wouldn't stick to his uniform. However, when it came to Zack, he was often up close and personal. The puppy child wiggled in the older man's broad arms and ended up getting melting desert all over the both of them.

The First class walked both of them to the bathroom. He turned on the light and made sure to sit the wiggle-worm that was his former student against the closed lid seat of the toilet.

"You stay here while I go clean up the kitchen." He ordered gently.

"Okay!" Zack responded as he began to kick his legs up and down as he sat.

With that, Angeal booked it out of the bathroom and back into the kitchen. He sighed heavily and raked his right hand through his hair. Thankfully the mess was on the floor and not anywhere else, it was still just going to be a pain to clean up. He made his way to the sink and grabbed the dish towel resting idly behind the faucet. He saturated it with water and added soap. When the cloth was nice and foamy, he went to work wiping up the sticky pink mess all over the white tiles.

It didn't take as long as Angeal had thought it would as he had managed to clean up the floor in less than five minutes. He nodded his head at his work as he put the dish towel back. However, as soon as he cleaned up one mess, he heard the makings of another coming from the bathroom.

"Whats do you think dis does, Loco? _Eeeep! That's cwooold! Ahhh! Nnn, I'm stuck! This's all your fault Loco!_ " The voice of Zack shrieked from the bathroom.

"What did you touch this time, Zack?" Angeal called as he scurried to the bathroom as quick as he could.

As he peaked his head into the small room to investigate the damage done to his bathroom, he found the puppy child tangled in the shower curtain on the floor with his chocobo toy laying next to him. He was trying to untangle himself as the shower was spraying cold water against the rim of the tub and the water droplets ricocheted off the rim and splashed against his exposed flesh. Angeal walked further into the bathroom and shut the shower off with a few counterclockwise twists to the knob on the far right.

"Angeal, help me! I'm stuuuck!" Zack cried as he fought with the death grip of the curtain.

"Hold on, quit squirming." The First commanded as he sunk to his knees to help out the little puppy child. With quick work and nimble fingers, he freed the four-year old from the clutches of the curtain.

"Unstuck!" The former Second class cheered as he rolled out of the curtain and on to a small and shaggy teal blue rug sitting next to the bathtub.

"I thought I told you to sit still and wait." Angeal reminded with slightly hardened eyes.

"It was Loco's fault!" Zack protested as he picked up his discarded toy and showed it to the older man.

"Tell me, how is a stuffed chocobo responsible for _your_ actions?"

"He tolded me to do it."

"He _told_ you?"

"Uh!" Zack responded as his ears twitched.

"All right, all right. Now let's get you cleaned up a bit and back to bed." Angeal reminded as that pink sticky ice-cream seemed to scream at him visually.

"Oh, I cans do that!" The puppy child responded as he began to lap a sticky splotch of pink off the back of his hand with his tongue.

The First was so puzzled that he actually had to stop and stare. Then he remembered his former student was fused with a wolf or dog. However, by the pointy ears and shape of the tail, it was most likely a stray wolf they fused him with. The features were too small to be considered a Nibel wolf and the coloration was too off to pass for a Bandersnatch. It was probably a Timber wolf they had scrounged up to use. That wolf must have been the base in the experiment while the child's old body was used as the sub. Therefore, it yielded the result of a four-year old wolf child.

Angeal pulled himself out of his internal musings and gently took a hold of the hand Zack was lapping at. The puppified-child gave him a confused look as one black ear flattened to his head while the other remained poised upright.

"That kind of cleaning won't do much good. I've got a better way." He responded as he broke eye contact with the child.

He kept a hold on the little one's hand even after he rose from the ground and glanced over at the sink. With his free right hand, he grabbed a small hand towel and wet it down, repeating the same process he did before when it came to cleaning up the kitchen floor. When this towel was soaped up and wet, he gently sunk down to his knees again and wiped the slightly warm cloth over the pink splotch of ice-cream embedded into the small hand within his own.

When the hand was clean, Angeal dropped it and moved on to the boy's face. Zack giggled as the cloth ran over his face to clean it up and he even playfully tried to bite at it when it was pulled away. A grin consumed his face as made his longer canine teeth poke out from behind his lips as the older man continued to clean him off. While he was at it, he even took care of the grime and stray blood caked into his arms and at the top of his head too.

Angeal would give the child a proper scrub down tomorrow, but for now, this temporary cleansing would have to do. When he was deemed clean enough, the rag was pulled away and set into the sink after being wrung out. Afterwards he picked up the fallen translucent white curtain and put it back on the rod it had once rested on. Once that was back in place and everything that needed to be done was done, they could finally get some rest for the night.

"All right, now it's back to bed with you." Angeal told the puppy child standing in front of him.

"Awww~! But I's not tired, Angeal!" Zack whined as he latched on to his pant leg and began to pout.

"Tired or not, you need to get some rest." He responded with an unwavering voice. He would not let that pout win him over this time.

"Noooo!" The wolf-hybrid whined as the older man picked him up and carried him out of the bathroom, making sure to turn the light off before completely leaving.

The First class walked back into the spare room across the way from his own and approached the bed. The ceiling light was already on and washed the room in soft light. As he went to lay the little one down, small arms swarmed around his neck and clung tight, preventing him from being let go and laid down.

"Zack, you need to go to bed, you can climb all over me tomorrow." Angeal spoke with a firm tone as he unhooked the child's arms from his neck.

"Nnnnh, no." He whined as his hands clung to the older man's upper arms. His whine wasn't in the bratty or defiant tone, but more of the scared variation.

"You're a big boy, Zack, and big boys sleep in their own beds."

"No, I not! I don't wanna be lefts awone! Pwease let me sweep with you!" The puppified-child admitted, squirming wildly to gain grip on any part of the older man that he could before he could be put down.

"I'm just going to be right across the hall from you and the doors will be kept wide open, you aren't going to be left alone." Angeal reassured as he was finally able to shake off the clingy grip around his neck and arms and lay the child down against his bed.

Zack thrashed wildly and whined loudly, his fuzzy black ears pinned down against his head while his tail found sanctuary hiding in between his legs. With firm hands, the boy was kept still until he stopped thrashing. He looked up at the First with watering cornflower blue eyes and sniffed thickly. He did admit his defeat and allowed the blankets to be curled around his small body and tucked in.

"I'm going to be right across the hall, so there's no need to be afraid." He reassured for a second time to make sure that the little one knew he couldn't be alone.

Zack sniffed and remained silent, still keeping those big watery eyes fixed to his former mentor. A large hand gently ran through the raven's black spikes of his hair in a soothing manner and gently rubbed his right ear. It did not bring a smile to the four-year old's face, but a small cracked hum let him know that the gesture was appreciated. With a quick good night, Angeal turned off the light and slipped out of the room and into his own.

He kept the doors opened as promised even as he changed out of his uniform and in something easier to sleep in. His choice of clothes had been simple, black sweat pants and a plain white shirt that liked to hug his arms and torso. His lamp by his bedside table was on as was his ceiling fan. He had peeled back his maroon red covers and was just about to climb into his own bed until his enhanced hearing picked up on sniffles and little whimpers.

He remained poised next to his bed as he listened. Those sniffs and whimpers soon drawled into whines, and those whines did not take long to transition into bull blown cries and shouts of his name as fear overtook him.

Angeal sighed heavily, cracking and caving in as he almost always did when it came to his student. He pulled away from his bed and shuffled down the hall and into the child's room. Zack was curled into a tight ball with his ears still pinned down against his head. He was crying and sobbing against his toy chocobo as tears streamed down his face like little clear rivers. The First said nothing as he peeled the blankets away from the puppified-child and lifted him into his arms.

As soon as he was lifted out of the bed, Zack stopped crying and gave Angeal a bewildered look before it slipped into a bright smile before he nuzzled his face against the crook of the older man's neck. His ears perked back up and his tail began to wag. He was walked into the older man's room and was deposited on to the right side of the bed in a gentle fashion as the First hunkered down on his side and got comfortable. He then turned his eyes of midnight's blue to the child laying beside him.

"Remember, this is just for tonight." He told him, pointing at him with his index finger so the child would get the message.

"Okay!" Zack responded brightly as he wiggled his way closer to his former mentor. He snuggled up next to him as a content and peaceful look washed over his face as he closed his eyes.

Angeal gently pet those quill like spikes of the child's hair for a few moments before turning off the small lamp and slipping away into sleep himself. The last thing that ran through his mind was hoping that his former student retained something from his old body, something that could be proved of his former strength and allow him to remain under his care and tutelage.

Only time would tell.

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A/N: And there's where chapter four will be ending! I hope you guys enjoyed it and I hope you'll continue to stick around! :)

Don't forget to leave a review on your way out! :D

Anyways, since I'm tired and it's late as I finish this, I'll see you all in the next chapter!

Toodles!  
~Zimithrus1


	5. V: Toxin

Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter five of Puppy Days! I thank all of you for your support and dedication to this little fic of mine! :) I hope you all will continue to enjoy what I have in store. With that all said and done, enjoy chapter five!

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~V: Toxin~

"-Geal... Angeaaall! _Angeal, wake up please!_ "

That was not the first thing Angeal expected to hear as he was woken up that morning. He cracked open his bleary eyes, blinking them a few times as he attempted to clear out the haze created from heavy sleep. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed Zack was leaning over him with a panicked look in his eyes, which were also full of tears that had yet to be cried. Instantly, all of the sleepiness left the First class as he quickly sat up and looked the puppy child over.

"Zack, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" Angeal quickly asked as his hands clasped the little one's small shoulders.

"I'm hungrys." The four-year old explained as his frightened tone and teary eyes vanished in an instant and was replaced with a big grin.

The ravenette couldn't resist taking his hands off the child's shoulders and slapping his right hand to his face as he exhaled in a noisy and exasperated manner. Zack copied him with a laugh and a giggle, his bushy black tail wagging fast as his ears gently twitched at the tiniest of sounds from throughout the room.

"Please do not use that tone unless you are hurt or scared." Angeal chided as he gently tapped the puppified child's nose with his left index finger.

"Why nots?" Zack asked as he cocked his head to the right while his left ear flattened to his head.

"Because it scares me." The First blurted before his brain could comprehend what his mouth had spoken.

Zack's bright blue eyes widened tremendously and he threw himself at the older man, giving him a hug at the shoulders.

"I sorries, Angeal! I no do that again!" He promised, not liking that he had frightened him.

"It's alright." The ravenette said as he gently pat the child's puffy black spikes in a comforting manner.

Zack broke off the hug and scooted himself back to the other side of the bed, ears now straight up in their natural position as his tail wagged in more of a gentle fashion than usual. Angeal glanced over to his left as his eyes of midnight's navy connected to the time displayed on the analog clock sitting idly on his end table. The time read seven o' two in the morning. Well, at least the child still retained his old waking up time from his former form.

However, it wasn't his sleeping habits that would determine if he got to continue staying here under his former mentor's care and guidance: It was going to be his strength and wits in the end. The First hoped to the Goddess that the child retained _something_ from his former life. He wouldn't know what to do if he lost his student again. The first time was bad enough, and he didn't want to imagine how a second time of watching him slip away would make him act.

Angeal shook his head as he pulled himself out of his inner musings. He stretched his arms above his head to wake up his lagging muscles. From his peripheral vision, he saw Zack to the same thing as he looked at him with a big smile on his face. After his stretch, he peeled off the covers from his frame and stood up from the queen sized bed. His ears picked up the sounds of little pattering against the carpet and his eyes saw black spikes running around from the right side of the bed and stop and stand right in front of him, still smiling away.

Angeal smiled as he ran his hand through the child's spiky hair before walking out of the bedroom. He heard the little one follow behind him out of the bedroom, through the hallway, and into the kitchen. Copious amounts of sunlight washed in through the large bay window behind the table and chairs. There weren't very many windows within Shin-Ra, most of them were on the housing floors for the SOLDIERs and at the uppermost level of the towering building. However, where windows were present, the view was always breathtaking.

Zack padded up to the large window while Angeal broke away to scan through the cabinets to see what he had for the both of them to eat. Most of the boxed and canned goods were lunch and dinner foods or took to long when it came to prep time. He ended up finding a box of cereal in one of the cabinets near the back of the kitchen. It wasn't chalk full of sugar and overly flavorful like most children enjoyed. It was just a simple honey-flavored oat cereal. But knowing his former student, he would eat just about anything without complaining.

He pulled the half full box down and set it against the counter while he turned on his heel and opened up the counter right behind the one he had previously opened. He pulled down two bowls and closed the cabinet door. Under the counter lay a drawer full of the necessary silverware. He tugged that opened and pulled out two spoons before shutting it with his hip before walking back over to the portion of counter the box of cereal was resting against.

He poured in an equal amount of the circle shaped oat bits before resealing the box up and putting it back in to the proper cabinet. He broke away from the counter and to the refrigerator diagonal from his current position. He popped open the door and pulled out a fresh gallon of milk. He broke the seal and untwisted the lid of the platic carton before walking back over to the bowls full of cereal and pouring in the white liquid near the rim of the white bowls. Once that was accomplished, he deposited the milk back where it went.

When Angeal looked towards the window, he noticed Zack was not present. Not really feeling like going on a wild goose chase trying to find the child, he'd just lead him back to the kitchen.

"If you don't get in here your breakfast will get soggy!" The First called down the stretch of hallway from where he stood in the kitchen.

While he waited for his voice to carry over and reach the little one, he took the two full bowls of cereal and set them down on the kitchen table. As soon as he stepped away from the table, he heard quick shuffling coming from down the hall. He glanced to his left just in time to see Zack scurry back into the kitchen with his stuffed chocobo in his arms.

"Sorries, Angeal. I had to gets Loco." He spoke as his eyes connected with the bowls of food shortly after.

"I hope you're okay with cereal this morning." Angeal spoke as he took a seat at the table in the chair closest to the window.

"I likes cereal!" Zack responded as he approached the table.

He tossed Loco up on to the table next to his bowl of cereal, then hoisted himself on to his chair, struggling just a little bit but managing just fine. He was barely tall enough to reach the table. His chin was level with the table's elevation and he had to prop his arms against the table. His tail slipped through a few gaps in the wooden bars of the chairs' back and wagged gently as it hung suspended in the air. He gripped his spoon in his right hand and loaded a spoonful of 'O' shaped bits before shoveling it into his mouth.

He chewed with a big smile on his face as his wail wagged a little faster. Angeal found himself smirking when he saw the little one have milk dribble out from his mouth and trace his chin. He wiped off his chin, then proceeded to ask Loco if he wanted any cereal too. Within ten more minutes, the duo had finished eating with no remains left in their bowls and stomachs full for the next four hours or so.

With breakfast taken care of, they could now focus on other tasks that needed to be taken care of for the day. For one, the child still needed a good bath. Afterwards, he could probably use some clothes that actually fit him. Once they had those errands out of the way, they were going to stop by the training floor and assess the extent of Zack's current strength and stamina.

Angeal collected the discarded bowls and took them to the sink, rinsing them out before putting them in the dishwasher to take care of later. The puppy child watched him as he made his way back over to the table and stop in front of him. He reached out and curled his arms around the child's middle and lifted him up.

"Are we goin' somewheres, Angeal?" Zack asked as he snuggled up to the older man as he was lead out of the kitchen.

"We're going to give you a bath." The First class responded as he entered the bathroom and turned the ceiling light on.

"But I can gives myself a bath." The four-year old gently protested as he started to lick the back of his left hand, then use that to run over the back of his left fuzzy ear.

"Not like that, you'll just make yourself smell like spit." Angeal told him as he took his hand away from his ear and draped it over his shoulder instead.

Keeping the young one in his arms, he knelt to the white tile below and turned on the bath faucet with a few clockwise twists to the knob on the very left. He then twisted the one on the very right a little bit to add some cool water to the warm to get it to the perfect temperature. While waiting for the large white tub to be filled, Angeal let Zack out of his arms and let the child stand next to the filling bathtub.

"You stay here and don't touch anything. I'm going to check the closet and see if I have anything remotely close to fitting you." He directed as he walked to the door of the bathroom before spinning on his heel and adding "-I mean it when I say don't touch anything, I don't want to clean up another mess."

"Yes, Angeal." Zack obediently responded as he locked his hands behind his back and smiled at him.

That 'innocent' smile seemed to be a little suspicious, but regardless, the First class broke away from the open bathroom door and hurried into his bedroom. He had a gut feeling his former student was going to try and pull a fast one. He had always been sly and sneaky like that. He opened up his closet door and wondered if he even owned anything that small. Then a small lightbulb went off inside his head as he remembered the closet in his former pupil's room contained a few old articles of clothes.

He heard the rustling of Zack moving about in the bathroom, but didn't hear like he was getting into anything he shouldn't, so not giving it a second thought, he shut the door and left his bedroom into the one right across the hall.

He swung open the splintering door and scoured the depths of the crammed pack closet. Near the back and folded sloppily on one of the top shelves, he spotted a charcoal gray shirt that was relatively small. It had a small tonberry on the front looking up with a knife in its right hand with text underneath it reading 'I wasn't gonna hurt nobody, I promise!'. It would probably swallow the four-year old, but it was better than anything the ravenette might possess in his own closet.

He was also able to find a large pair of white silk athletic shorts with a black stripe down either side of the pant-legs that would probably fit the boy like pants, but they had a drawstring to tighen up the waistband. After picking out the shirt and shorts, he shut the closet door, cut across the room, passed the bed and stopped in front of the dresser. He pulled open the top drawer and found some low cut socks that could stretch. He couldn't really do anything about undergarments yet, so he figured he could take care of that when they went out today.

Once those clothes had been selected, he shut the closet door and left the room to hurry back into the bathroom. He stopped and could have sworn a nerve in the front of his head twinged with slight annoyance as he saw Zack's backside sticking out of the cabinets and his frame still. His tail was barely twitching.

"I told you not to touch anything, Zack." Angeal reminded as he walked in and stopped right in front of the boy as he deposited the clothes against the rim of the sink above.

The four-year old heard nothing and continued to keep his body halfway inside the cabinet. The older man had to crouch down to the ground and peer inside. He was instantly horrified when he saw the little one's upper body lay slackened inside the small space with a few cleaning supplies tipped over and some of their contents were spilled or missing.

"Good Gaia, Zackary! _What did you do!?_ " Angeal exclaimed as he yanked the child's body out of the cabinet and layed him back-down on the floor to get a look at his face.

"I gots thirsty waiting for you to get back, so I founds some juice down there... but it dosen't taste very good 'n... dun' feel very good." The wolf child muttered softly. His complexion had yet to turn pale, so he must have just ingested the substance.

 _"How much did you ingest?! What did you drink?!"_ The First exclaimed, his voice lost former composure and contorted into something between horrified and irritated.

"D'...Blue stuffs.. I jus' had a drink or two..." The little one drawled as his finger pointed at the tipped spray bottle.

Angeal quickly broke eye contact with his former student and fixed his wavering midnight blue eyes towards the tipped bottle. It was glass cleaner with ammonia as one of the active ingredients. He didn't really know a lot about cleaners and what they did if ingested, but he did have a crash course of toxic chemicals back when he was first accepted into the SOLDIER program. Most of the time the chemicals needed to be diluted in the system with either milk or water and vomiting should only be induced if directed to.

Thankfully, the puppy child didn't drink that much and probably only took one drink before realizing it didn't taste very good. Just to make extra sure, he figured calling up a professional in this field would be of more help than his limited knowledge. He quickly pulled out his small PHS and dialed up the number to a poison center before putting the device up to his right ear while his left hand began to subconciously run through the four-year old's hair.

"I, I sorries, Angeal..." Zack mumbled as his eyes watered, his ears twitching and moving slowly as they tried to flattened against his head.

The older man was still too frazzled to respond to the child, his mind was going a million miles a minute and was unable to focus on the child laying against the ground below. The bathtub was starting to get rather full, but it still continued to pour more and more water into it. After the second ring, the two lines connected.

"Poison control, Huey Clarkson here, what seems to be the situation?" The voice of a young male asked through the line.

"My four-year old just got a hold of some glass cleaner, what should I do to dilute the substance?" The ravenette asked quickly, wasting no time.

"How much did they drink and how long ago?"

"Maybe a tablespoons' worth no longer than five minutes ago."

"All right. You can use either milk or water to dilute the substance, about four to eight ounces should soften the blow. There's no need to induce vomiting since it was a small amount. It shouldn't cause too much damage if treated immediately. They should be fine." The man named Huey responded professionally but with what could have been a lilt of a smile at the end of his instructions.

"Thank you very much." Angeal responded.

"If it happens to get worse, give us a call."

"Will do." With that, the line was disconnected and the First stood to his feet.

"Waits, where are you going?" Zack quickly spoke up as worried fused into his quiet voice.

"Getting you something to drink, I'll be back soon." Angeal spoke before he hurried out of the bathroom.

He scurried right in to the kitchen and swung open the refrigerator door and yanked out the milk as fast as he could. He pulled a glass out of the cabinet next to the fridge and filled it an inch below the rim. He didn't bother to shut the door to the large appliance before leaving the kitchen to hurry back into the bathroom. He sunk to his knees in front of the child and helped him sit up. He put the glass into the little one's hands and helped him get the liquid down slow and steady as to not further upset his stomach.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again." Angeal sternly ordered once the wolf hybrid child finished off the last of the white liquid.

Zack's ears flattened to his head fully as his tail curled around his legs before he spoke. "I sorries." He muttered as he handed the glass back to the older man without looking at him while said glass was placed on the counter for the time being.

The ravenette broke away from the four-year old long enough to stop filling up the bathtub before it had a chance to spill its' contents on to the floor below. It was nearly up to the rim, so he made sure to let some of the water drain out. His eyes of storming midnight's blue locked with teary cornflower ones behind him. Zack's gaze broke away from him and found intrest in staring at his hands while his ears nearly disappeared because they had flattened themselves firmly to his head.

"Come here." Angeal directed, making sure to wipe out the last traces of fear or reprimandation out of his face and voice.

Zack slowly stood up and did as he was told, still keeping his forlorn eyes from meeting with his former mentor's. He stood to the left of him, his eyes staring at his reflection in the water of the bathtub. Now that he was standing, his tail had tucked between his legs and found sanctuary in staying there not moving an inch.

"Look at me." Angeal directed.

The little one glanced at him quickly before breaking away as quick as they connected.

"Hey, keep them on me." He ordered gently.

Those eyes connected and stayed that way, even though they wanted to break away and hide like his tail and ears were doing. Angeal's large right hand gently tapped at the boy's jaw and told him to open his mouth. The boy obeyed without a word or sound. His mouth was red and slightly inflamed from the harsh chemical, but the milk had seemed to do its job in minimizing the damage and providing some soothing comfort lingering behind.

His hand moved from the boy's face and rested against his head, gently petting and stroking his left ear gently. The fuzzy appendage gently twitched against the callused but gentle touch. That bushy black tail slowly unfurled from in between his legs and slowly began to wag, even if his face wasn't all in it. That large hand moved from the left ear and to the right to give it equal amounts of attention. That tail wagged a little faster as those eyes gently began to brighten.

"I suppose I can forgive you for nearly giving me a panic-induced heart attack, just don't do anything that reckless again, okay?" Angeal said with a lighter note in his voice.

"Okay, Angeal. I pwomise." Zack responded as a tiny grin fluttered across the corners of his lips.

"All right, now it's bath time for you." The older man reminded as he gestured to the old dirt and grime still pressed into the small body before him.

"Okie-dokie." The four-year old responded with a little nod as he wiggled out of those loose and dirty pants before hopping in to the warm bath water and snuggling into the warmth of the liquid.

Angeal applied small amount of liquid soap to the water and sloshed it around in a few haphazard clockwise circles to form frothy bubbles to swarm the surface of the water and encroach the small body of his former student. The little one was all smiles and giggles again as he slapped at a few of the bigger bubbles, watching them explode with a gentle _pop_ and a big grin on his face.

The ravenette cupped his hands in the water, catching some of the frothy liquid in his grasp. He poured the small amount of liquid over the four-year old's head, smiling gently when the young one laughed brightly, fear and shame completely gone. Voice slightly scratchy from the harsh chemical, but fairing better than before. He knew he had to puppy-proof his flat for sure after this little spook.

Once Zack's hair was saturated, some shampoo was applied. One layer to bring the grime to the surface and the second layer to completely lift all the copious amounts of oil from his slightly matting hair. He helped the child rinse out all the frothy light blue bubbles from his hair by dipping his head back into the water and running large fingers through the strands.

Afterwards, he was directed to apply a small amount of liquid soap to his person and rinse it off. He did as he was told and within ten minutes, the pup was bathed and clean. He was helped out of the large tub and was dried off with a large white towel. He was assisted in putting on his clothes, which ended up being very loose and massive on him. The shirt swallowed his frame and fit him more like a small nightgown and the athletic shorts fit him just like pants and ended at the base of the ankle. Even the socks were a bit too big for him.

Once his clothes were on, Angeal took a smaller towel to the four-year old's hair and ears. He gently rubbed the fuzzy ears dry before squeezing out some sopping wet spikes. When the corner of the white towel draped in front of Zack's face, the child growled at it playfully, much like the half-wolf he was now, and even gripped it with his teeth and swung his head side to side while continuing to growl and play with the towel like a chew toy.

As the ravenette went to pull the towel off the child's head, his mouth clamped down tighter and refused to relinquish the fluffy object to his former mentor. When Angeal went to tug at it, Zack growled and tightened his vice-grip as a big grin spread across his face and lit up his eyes like the stars in the clear night sky in the countryside.

"All right pup, give me the towel." Angeal playfully prodded as he pulled one of the corners further towards him.

"N'v'r!" Zack growled, his voice muffled from his large bite around the fluffy fabric.

"Well then, if it's tug-o-war you want, that's what you'll get!" The ravenette challenged as he tugged a little harder on the towel.

He couldn't use all of his strength. If he did he'd probably end up breaking off his former pupil's teeth in this playful escapade. Every jerk and pull was met with another one of smaller strength and more jovial growling and head shaking. With one firm and swift tug, the white towel popped out of the puppy child's mouth as the force of the tug made the little one stumble forward and crash into the older man's torso gently.

"Can we do it agains?" Zack asked as his tail began to wag fast and his ears perked up high atop his head.

"Maybe later, there's still a lot of things we have to do today." Angeal spoke as he put the towel back up on the proper rung next to the bathtub.

"But I wanna keep playing! I having funs!" Zack whined as his little hands fisted the white shirt his former mentor was clothed in as he looked up at him with a big pout on his face.

"We'll play later, pup, I promise." Angeal responded with a quick pet to the little one's ears.

"Okaaay." The child drawled as he released the white shirt and stepped away from the older man to allow him to stand back up. "Wait, whats to we hafta do today?" he quickly asked as his right ear gently lowered to show he was confused.

"Just run a few errands, it shouldn't take too long."

"Okay, _theeen_ we can play! Rights?" Zack reminded as his tail began to was fast and strong.

"Yes, Zack. _Then_ we can play." Angeal responded as his hand went back to gently petting the little one's soft and clean spikes.

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A/N: And there's where chapter five will be ending! :3 I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and sorry if I freaked you out with the poison bit! That was in there mainly to add a bit of suspense and slight character development, so yeah :p

Any ways, let me know what you thought of the chapter, okay? :)

Until next time everyone!

Toodles!  
~Zimithrus1


	6. VI: Concomitant

Goodness gracious gravy boat! Another update for this story? Yup! Another update. I am bad by not updating any of my other stories and I should feel bad... But I don't! *said in a Zoidburg accent* One of these days I'll get around to pumping out chappies for my other stories, but for now, I'll let my muse run its' course with this story before it gets bored and moves to the next one. Any ways, I hope you enjoy chapter six! :)

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~VI: Concomitant~

Zack sat on the queen sized bed in Angeal's room while the older man busied himself with the task of getting ready to go out for the day. The four-year old was smiling as he played with Loco, flapping his stuffed wings and making him run around the bed while his tail wagged against the covers behind him and made them move ever so slightly. The First was rummaging through his closet and dresser, picking things out without really looking them over. He made sure not to mix prints however, he couldn't go out looking like the child on his bed dressed him.

He clothed himself in a black tanktop with a deep blue flannel jacket thrown over it. The sleeves were rolled up above the elbow and he left the golden brass buttons undone. His pants were black denim jeans and he just settled with wearing the boots that accompanied his First class uniform. Not only were they comfortable, but versatile as well. When he was relatively pleased with his ensemble, he turned to his former student and tenderly picked him up from the bed, still unmade, but he'd worry about fixing it up later.

Zack snuggled up to his larger frame and draped his small arms around Angeal's broad neck, smiling as bright as the sun, if not brighter as the man adjusted him slightly so he could cart him around easier. The ravenette made sure he had everything he needed before setting out, which was mainly his wallet and key card. He possessed no keys or a vehicle since everything he needed was always in walking distance and if there was something he needed to do further out, he could just take the train for a small fee.

Angeal left his bedroom with a sure stride and powerful steps, how he often paced, walked, or strolled hen he was either on duty or out and about. Zack gently bobbed and bounced with the motions of the heavy steps and gentle sway that accompanied the motion of walking. Once the front door was in reach, Angeal popped it open with his free hand and shut it behind him.

He reached into the left pocket of his pants and fished out his key card so he could lock the door to his flat before leaving. He swiped the white card through the scanner next to the front door. When the light turned red with a little beep, he deposited the card back into his pocket and set off down the hall. His steps echoed off the walls inside the white-washed hall. Zack was looking all around him and in every direction he could turn his head. He had yet to see what Midgar and everything in it looked like since he had fallen asleep on the helicopter ride on the way here the other day.

The little one's attention was grabbed when he heard a soft ding from behind where he was currently looking. He turned his head to see where the noise had came from. Sleek silver elevator doors were slowly opening up to let them in. They stepped in as Angeal hit the 'lobby' button near the bottom of the massive panel containing all of the floors from the lobby up to fifty-nine. Those doors slid closed with a gentle hiss and hum before sealing shut while the steel box descended to take them to the proper floor.

Zack's bright blue eyes scanned each button on the panel, glanced at the screen telling them which floors where were on and passing, even looking at the small posters promoting Shin-Ra and their programs. He realized he was getting a tad too fidgety when Angeal readjusted his squirmy frame slightly. He tried to keep movement to a minumum after that, but he was just too excited to simply sit still!

Just when he was getting used to the surroundings around him, the elevator began to slow down in its descend and eventually stopped. As soon as it halted, the doors slowly slid open and let them out on their designated floor. The lobby was masive! It looked sleek and of cutting-edge in the visuals. A few potted plants sat stationary in a few bare corners of the massive room. There was a receptionist desk near the back of the building and a large Shin-Ra glass plaque hung high above them in the colors of black, gold, silver, and red.

A few infantrymen were scouring the lobby or hanging out with another on their off hours. One of them was talking to a receptionist near the large brown finished desk while her colleague rolled her eyes while trying to stay on the phone. Stairs complemented either side of the room and were garnished in a long purple rug to decorate the steel steps and add class. They did not linger about in the lobby for very long before moving towards the front doors.

Harsh mid-morning sunlight blared in through the open doors and Zack had to squint his eyes and bury his face into Angeal's shoulder to shield his face from the mega bright sunshine. He wanted to see what Midgar looked like as they moved through the streets, but right now his eyes were telling him to stay down for now.

His fuzzy black ears twitched at every little noise that was made: The gentle morning breeze, the incoherent chatter of mixed individuals scattered about, the gentle sloshing of water to his left, and even the scuffs that peoples shoes made when they didn't pick their feet high up enough while walking. When he adjusted to the change from darkness to light, he slowly lifted his eyes up from Angeal's shoulder and looked all around him in awe.

Tall buildings soared over their heads and provided a bit of shade to certain areas or in distinct alleyways. All walks of life were out and about this morning, business women and men in deep colored suits rushing around, leisurely adults shooting the breeze without a care in the world, parents with their children holding their hands while being lead through the bustling streets. Even sounds of trains whistling long and low could be heard from where they stood.

Zack's ears perked straight up as he honed in on every possible sound he could. His tail was poised in the air in the shape of a capital 'S' while the small breeze ruffled the fur on the wolf appendages he possessed. He looked in every direction he could, twisting his upper body, craning his neck, peering over Angeal's shoulders and many a time getting in his line of sight on accident. His eyes then shot up to the sky, it was the bluest thing he had ever seen. It was bright and deep while a few puffy white clouds resembling shapes of dragons and people slowly rolled on by.

The early October breeze picked up a little more, howling softly in his ears and sending small prickles of chills up and down his arms as the wind ghosted around his frame like a careless whisper or breathy sigh. While the air around him was cold, being nuzzled up to Angeal kept him rather warm. He was comfortable as ever and could even take a nap in this position if he so desired. When his bright eyes that mirrored the sky collided briefly with the sun, he squinted and looked away as a tickle developed in his nose.

A sneeze burst through his lips and scraped his irritated throat. He tried to catch it with his hands, but it mostly dispersed out behind him to intermingle with the air. The action was still as gross and sloppy as ever though. He saw some people behind them pointing at him and gently whispering to another with smiles on their faces. It was a man and a woman, the red-haired lady looking at him with kind brown eyes while the black-haired man just gave him a quick glance with emerald eyes.

"Hello!" Zack greeted as he pulled his right hand away from Angeal's neck to wave at them from the ten meter distance.

He saw the red-headed lady wave at him and smile back while the black-haired man cracked a small grin in his general direction. His tail began to wag as he went back to looking all aorund him as he noticed the surrounding beginning to change. The buildings were of darker coloration and neon signs painted each establishment in an array of bright and fun colors. They passed underneath a large arch and the sunlight was dimmed slightly, making his pupils dilate to adjust to the change.

The number of people had decreased a bit, but there were still some mingling with others and walking around. A few neon signs flashed brightly and caught his attention. One bright red sign read 'Goblin's Bar', while another one strobed in white flickered 'LOVELESS plaza'. That must be where they were right now. They passed by a few shops, the wares inside from behind the windows caught his eye. He saw many things ranging from jewelry and diamonds to toys and music boxes. He could even pick up a music box playing from inside one of the stores from behind the closed door.

It was relaxing, sad, and beautiful all at the same time and Zack couldn't resist swaying his head to the bright chimes it resounded. The tune painted the picture of two people that had been separated for a long time finally re-meeting in a tender embrace. For some reason, he pictured himself and Angeal being those two people. He snapped out of that trance when he could no longer hear that music box chime, finally out of ear shot of his enhanced wolf ears.

However, his ears perked back up when a bell chimed and tinkled from above their heads as the outside clamor was garbled, suffocated, and quieted. Zack did a double-take at where they currently were. It was a small establishment, a thrift-store in fact. Fancy and aged nick-knacks alike lined the walls of the building while racks of clothes sat idly by in the middle of the store. There were old movies, toys, and even housewarming items near the back.

Angeal finally set him down, but instantly reclaimed a grip on him by holding on to his left hand. That wasn't very fun, now he couldn't run around and see what kind of fun stuff the store had to offer! He kept an even pace with him, having to take faster and lighter steps to keep up with him so he wouldn't fall behind. Often times he would have to power walk or run in a bouncy fashion to catch up to his former mentor's long strides.

Thankfully, the older man began to slow down when he realized how hard he had to walk or run to keep up with him. They bypassed a few racks of clothes that would definitely be too big for him and ventured on further towards the back of the small building. Zack's eyes scanned each article hanging on the hangers, looking all around him and trying to soak up as much as he could with his little eyes. He didn't realize they had stopped until his small frame crashed into the older man's right leg.

"Careful now." Angeal told him as he gently pulled him off his leg and straightened him up.

He gave the older man a big grin and a happy giggle to show he would be a bit more careful. His eyes then roamed back to the racks they were standing in front of. A colorful array of shirts of all kinds lay spread out before them organized in the colors of the rainbow starting with reds and ending with blacks. Zack walked up to one of them and gripped the bottom of the fabric, pulling up a little bit to get a good look at what was on it. When he saw the blue shirt he picked was too plain, he shook his head and let it swing back in place.

He shot to the right towards the reds and repeated the process he did with the blue shirt. He did this about four more times before he finally started to find shirts his size that he liked. Every one he picked out that met his standards he'd show to Angeal to see if he approved of them too. All in all, he was able to get seven shirts approved from the older man. Four of them were long sleeved and varied in colors such as purple, green, blue, and black. The remaining three were short sleeved and were mostly white and black with prints on the front or back.

He insisted on carrying all of the shirts he picked as they made their way over to the pants so he wouldn't have to spend his days in shorts that fit him like so. The pants he was less picky on and went with four pairs of. Two were black denim with slightly different designs and variations while one was blue and the last pair were athletic pants with a cotton interior and polyester exterior. He instisted on carrying those too.

"Are you sure you can carry all of that?" Angeal asked as his hand roamed through his spikes and pet his right ear.

"Yes!" Zack piped up past the bundle of clothes he had in his grasp. Sure, he could barely see past the large mound he was holding, but he'd manage just fine.

"All right then, let's see if we can't find you some shoes." The older man spoke, gesturing to his socks.

"I'm fine with sockies!" He responded brightly as his tail began to wag gently through the open air behind him.

"Maybe so, but shoes will keep you from getting cuts and scrapes on your feet." Angeal explained as he lead the way to where the small section of shoes were kept.

"Okay, I still thinks I'm fine with my sockies though." Zack responded as he followed the older man much like how a baby duckling would follow its' mother.

When they padded up to the small section that the shoes were kept in, Zack gently lowered his clothing bundle so he could get a better look. After skimming and scanning for a moment, his eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped. He let out an excited gasp as his eyes connected to the most amazing shoes he had ever seen, black velcro tennis shoes with flames on the outer sides. He immediately wanted to show Angeal. He quickly scurried up to him and got his attention by crashing his body into his leg against since his arms were full of apparel.

"Look, Angeal!" Zack exclaimed as he bounded over to the spot where he saw the shoes and stopped right in front of them.

"Flames, huh? Angeal responded with a smirk as he looked them over.

They certainly did look small enough for Zack to wear. He took them from their spot and sat them down in front of him. He instantly plopped on his rear and set the clothes on his right while he gripped the right shoe first and put it on to the proper foot. He sealed it shut with the velcro and repeated the process with the left one. His eyes were alight with excitement when he found that they fit him perfect.

"Angeal, they fits!" Zack cheered as he literally ran circles around the older man while laughing brightly.

When running a little bit too fast, he tripped over his own foot and went stumbling. With lighting fast reflexes, Angeal caught a hold of him just in time before he busted his face against the tile beneath him. He was steadied out on his own two feet carefully and in a gentle manner.

"Alright, pup. I think that's enough running around for now." Angeal suggested in a way that sounded more like a demand than a suggestion.

"Okie-dokie, artichokey!" Zack sang in a bubbly fashion as he reclaimed his discarded pile of clothes.

With the matter of clothes taken care of, the two made their way further back into the store. Zack was a little curious. If they already had clothes, what else could they possibly need while they were here? His question was answered when he came face to face with a stuffed brontosaurus colored in browns, tans, and creamy whites. His eyes lit up as the rather large stuffed toy was placed on the pile of clothes.

"I get a _dinosaur?_ " He squealed as that smile stretched ear-to-ear as his tail wagged so fast it looked more like a black blur than an appendage.

He heard Angeal chuckle from in front of him. It was kind of hard to see him with clothes and a cute dinosaur plush blocking his vision.

"So what kind of animals do you like?" He had asked, even though he knew for a fact which animals and creatures his former student loved to death.

"I like chocobos, moogles, tonberrys, mmmm... Dinosaurs and cactuars!" Zack listed off with a bounce in his voice with each creature he listed off.

As soon as he finished his list, a little moogle and cactuar were placed into his arms next to the dinosaur. He lit up and squealed happily, wanting to snuggle his new stuffed animals but being unable to because of the clothing bundle wrapped up in his arms and taking up most of the space. After he thought he couldn't get more excited, he was wrong when a tonberry ended up in his pile. He just about dropped his clothes in his excitement while Angeal continued to chuckle in that scratchy and powerful baritone voice of his.

When the excitement of the toys died down, they left that section of the store and made their way back up to the front. It was hard to see where he was going, but if Zack looked up just enough than he could see the back of the older man's head as he lead the way. When he saw him stop, he did the same thing to avoid crashing into him again. The load was suddenly lifted from his arms and he could see again. They were up at the front of the store and a lady working the register was ringing them up for the items they found.

"So, you carried all of that all by yourself?" The brown-haired, blue-eyed girl asked him with a grin and a lilt in her voice.

"Yes I dids! I didn't needs any help either!" Zack boasted, putting his hands on his hips as a big smug smile stretched across his face.

"My, how grown up! I can barely get my eight year old to help me with the dishes!" She spoke with a giggle as she finished ringing up the selected items and put them into two bags.

She turned her attention back to Angeal and stated that the total would be three-hundred Gil. The necessary amount of currency was paid and the two left the small store with the two bags in tow. As they stepped back outside, what had once been mid-morning had now transitioned into high noon.

Zack found his stomach to be grumbling, causing a small wave of uncomfortable pain due to the small amout of cleaning fluids he had managed to ingest. He had only taken one drink before realizing it was too nasty to be anything good for him, but it still upset him none the less, being so young and all.

"Are you alright, pup?" Angeal asked as he saw the slightly pained expression blanket his former student's face as he held his stomach with his hands.

"I'm just a lil' hungrys." Zack responded with a sheepish grin to try and rid his face of the pained look he figured he was giving off.

"All right, there's a restaurant not too far from here that we can get something to eat at." Angeal responded as he moved one of the plastic bags from his right hand to his left.

After that, he took a hold of the four-year old's hand and lead the way once more. Zack followed silently and kept his eyes in front of him even if the scenery around him was visually calling out to him to look in their directions. Each grumble upset his stomach slightly and caused a bit of discomfort, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. Once he got some food down, the growling and pain were sure to go away.

The autumn sun was gentle as it beamed down against their backs and the breeze remained playful and free as it rustled their clothes and hair. A few more people were starting to show up in the plaza they were currently walking through due to it being later in the day and more people were now awake and about. Zack even spotted a child or two his own age with their parents as they ran errands around the town too. It didn't take long at all for them to arrive at the restaurant. Cornflower blue eyes scanned the small building. It looked to be a quaint little cafe and bistro.

They stepped inside as cool air conditioning met with them and circled around them when the glass doors swung shut. The tile was checkerboard black and white while the walls were a soothing red color. Some old school music was blaring from a few speakers set up around the small establishment. There was a couple sharing an iced coffee and muffin together near the back while a family in one of the booths they were close to were eating their entrees.

A waiter came up to them and showed them to their table, which was a small booth near the back closest to the kitchen but right next to a window. The booth was a bit high, but Zack managed to climb up and sit himself down just fine after Angeal had taken a seat on the inside first, their bags on the other side of the booth. He ended up being a bit too short to properly sit at the table and didn't really like that, thinking he was much taller than what he really was. However, when an idea pinged inside his head, a smile spread over his lips.

While Angeal busied himself with looking through the small menu, Zack crawled up and sat in his lap with a big grin on his face. It slightly startled the older man, but he let the young one sit there without any fuss or complaint. The two looked through one menu together, the younger wanting to eat just about every picture on the laminated surface.

"So, what sounds good to you?" Angeal asked as he flipped one of the pages so his puppified pupil could get another look through.

"Ev-"

"Don't say 'everything'."

"...D'at looks good!" Zack responded after a pause of silence as he pointed to what he wanted to eat, which was a simple grilled cheese.

"All right, I can work with that." Angeal responded with a soft smile as he set his menu down.

"What is you gonna eats, Angeal?" Zack asked as he tipped his head back to look at his former mentor upside-down.

"Behemoth burger." He responded as he playfully flicked the fuzzy left ear below him.

" _Whaaaaa-?_ I'nt that, that one really big hamburger thingy?"

"Yes, it's that 'really big hamburger thingy'." Angeal teased.

"Do you always eats d'at much?" Zack asked as he pulled his head back when his neck developed an ache.

"Most of the time." He responded.

Just then, their waiter reappeared and took their orders quickly, stating he'd get those out as soon as possible and he'd get them some drinks as well. With that, he hurried off into the kitchen to relay the order to the cooks inside. While the two waited for their food to come out, they ended up taking the paper wrapping off their straws and firing the tips of them at each other until they lost track of where the paper tips went. Then Angeal used the remains of what was left of the wrapping to show Zack how to make a rose out of the paper.

By the time he finished with his little tutorial, their food and drinks were placed before them piping hot and fresh straight from the griddle. It was a bit of a challenge in having to eat over Zack without getting crumbs in his hair or fur, but the First managed just fine while the puppified pupil dove right into his cheesy sandwich without mercy. Both of them finished off their food within fifteen minutes and felt very satisfied afterwards.

Zack's plate was licked clean and barely any crumbs remained on the white plate. He stretched and let out a relaxing sounding 'ahh'. The afternoon sun beamed in through the window and splashed across their bodies, warming them even though it was filtered through the thick pane of glass. They spent a few moments letting their meal settle while they washed in the warmth of the sun.

The afternoon sun gently beamed in through the thick panes of the window, filtering across the table and gently sparkling against the surface. As the two rested for a brief moment, their waiter returned to leave Angeal to pay the tab and collect their plates. He quickly walked away to give the older man some space. After all, be too impatient in this line of work and there wouldn't be a good tip to show for it. The older man paid the correct amount of Gil and left a little bit for the waiter to keep.

"Alright, Zack, are you ready to go?" Angeal asked as he looked down at the wolf-child in his lap.

A small smile graced the corners of his lips as he saw the little one napping away against him. His left ear was gently twitching as his tail sat stationary to his left. Callused fingers gently stroked behind each ear and ran through the thick hair as well. He supposed he could let the child rest while he finished up the rest of their errands. After that, it was time to see if Zack retained any of his former strength.

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A/N: Heya guys! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I would have had this one out a _looong_ time ago, but in the beginning of September, I found a stray kitten at my job and ended up taking him in! He had a wonky walk and it turns out he had two broken back legs, so my mother and I fixed them with surgery, but ever since then we've been low on funds (It was a pretty pricey penny for that surgery!) and stress has been eating at me since my hours got cut and- well, I think you get the jist XD Super busy and super stressed, but anyways, chappie eight's all done!

So, leave a review, type a response, let me know what you thought, anything! Every little bit is super appreciated and works as a great motivator :p

Until the next one!

Toodles!  
~Zimithrus1


	7. VII: Recitation

Holy-Moly-Ravioli! What's up guys? Sorry about my super long disappearance from this story, RL has been nothing but mean to me lately *sweat* Anyway, Here's chapter seven of Puppy Days! I hope you'll all enjoy :)

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~VII: Recitation~

 _Reaching out, hand stretched far ahead of him; longing, yearning, begging almost. He remembers tears swelling in his eyes like water under pressure or puss from an infected wound. He remembers the wet warmth of something thick and red all around him, curling and pooling under him like silky ribbons or perhaps a thick fleece blanket._

 _A hazy figure from beyond the blur, calling out for him, voice muffled as if hearing it underwater. His grasping hand gripped the empty air, trying to move but being unable to. He remembers feeling cold against his neck, like an icicle or a violent chill. He recalls feeling frightened beyond all belief, screaming at the hazy figure but being unable to hear his own voice in his ears._

 _All of a sudden, warmth spurts and pools down his throat. Within seconds, he is taken under into cold dark light. It is not bright, it is not pure: It is warped and twisted; the light of the dead._

" _Zack!"_

Then he awakens…

Zack stirred violently, squirming and writhing and whining loudly. Arms wrapped tightly around his frame to give comfort as his small hands reached out to grab whatever they could cling to.

His trembling fingers curled tightly around large and broad shoulders and he held as tight as he possibly could before he buried his face into the nape of an extensive and soothing-scented neck. The tears were already out of his eyes before he even had time to blink them back or will them away.

"Zack, calm down, it's alright." The familiar and calming voice belonging to Angeal purred against the shell of his ear.

However, the gentle voice could not quell the child's tears, and he found himself sobbing and whining as he rubbed his plump face side-to-side against the older man's neck. He never remembered falling asleep and that dream seemed so life-like it was like he was actually living through it than imagining he was.

"Easy now, you just had a bad dream is all." Angeal soothed once more before adding a very mild hush at the end of his statement.

"It was scawy!" Zack cried, his little fingers digging deeper into the blue flannel-clothed shoulders in front of him.

"Do you want to talk to me about it and get if off your mind?"

"The'r was wed and cold all awound. Couldn't see nothin', then someones called my name and it soundeds so scawed and fwightened!"

"I see…" Angeal responded quietly, arms circling around the smaller boy engulfed in his grasp a little bit tighter.

Even if he possessed no mental memory of his previous life, it seems he had obtained at least a few physical memories in their place. That night of his previous death would be forever burned into his body and replay hazily in his mind until he could heal.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore, okay? You're safe again, and that's what matters." Angeal replied tenderly, using his burly right hand to run through his former student's spiky black locks.

"I's safe?" Zack parroted, pulling his face away from the older man's neck to greet him with his eyes.

"Yes." Was the reassuring response given back to him.

At that, the four-year-old stopped clinging to the SOLDIER and relaxed, allowing his fears and paranoia to be washed away at the sense of security in his words. That was all he really needed to feel loads better. He pulled his eyes away from the broad neck in front of him and looked all around him, noticing that the scenery had changed drastically.

They were inside of a large metallic room, colors of light blue, warped silver steel, and blinding white lights hanging above blinding those down below. The child's fuzzy wolf ears twitched and stood more upright against his head as his tail flicked haphazardly from side-to-side. Tinted plexiglass swarmed the wall behind them, were it looked as if there was a control room behind them.

"Angeal, where's this?" Zack asked as his eyes of electric blue glanced into a much deeper set, like the color of storming midnight or violent ocean blue.

"We're back inside Shin-Ra, this is the training floor." Angeal responded as he finally set the wolf-hybrid back to solid ground again.

He had to stop and roll his broad shoulders to get them to pop.

That boy was certainly heavy for his deceptive size. Zack looked all around the spacious room, ears twitching and tail wagging. His face brightening considerably even in the room with copious amounts of lighting. He quickly spun on his heel before asking,

"What's this pwace even for?"

"We're going to… Play some games here." Angeal phrased, so he would not bore the child by saying something more like _'I'm going to train you till you drop.'_

"Games? I love games!" Zack exclaimed, his tail wagging much faster than now.

"Good. Now, you aren't going to be playing these games by yourself." Angeal informed with a bit of a playful smirk on his face.

"Are you gonna play with me, Angeal?" The hyper child asked with a squeal.

"Not quite, I've got someone a little more different in mind." The SOLDIER responded as he backed out of the large metal room.

He spun on his heel and walked out of the large room, pausing for only a moment to allow the strong glass door to slide open to the right. He stepped into the control room for the training room and headed over to the large board with multitudes of colorful and rather confusing buttons. He hoped he'd be able to remember how to generate ghosts to train against, it had been a while since he had done that last.

It was normally Sephiroth that took care of all the technical aspects of their spars and times they were trained and had their abilities assessed.

His dark blue eyes scanned each button, running through the options of which did what as he analyzed them. When memory finally caught up to him, he reached over and pressed a rather plain white button, uncolored like so many others. From there, the small screen smacked right into the middle of the control machine displayed sets of classes and occupations.

Angeal leaned away from the button and to the screen again, touching the glass surface and highlighting the occupation 'SOLDIER'. From there, a subcategory descended from the main folder, where 'Second Class' was selected. Once those categories were pulled open, a list of names were tucked away inside listed by alphabetical order of the sur-name: Adams, A. Avery, H. Bosque, R. So on and so forth.

Angeal used his right index finger to slide down the glass, making the names inside descend with the motions of the limb. He paused when he reached the 'F' division, scanning briefly before finding the correct file labeled 'Fair, Z.' He double-tapped the name before it highlighted in white to contrast with the sky blue screen.

Underneath the file, a small warning box generated. Small text read 'Do you wish to animate this ghost for training purposes?', with a yes and no selection. A quick tap to the yes signaled that the action was okay to allow.

The windows diminished as attention was pulled to the training room. Green and blue pixels began to form, starting from the bottom and working up to the top. The blocky materials began to define a shape as they ascended higher and higher, Zack watching with rapt attention and a still black tail. Once the shape was defined, the blocks generated colors and appearance that had Angeal swallow thickly.

The former version of Zack stood there, right in front of his real-life counterpart. He lacked the tail and the ears and stood so much taller, dwarfing the size of the small child considerably. The wolf-child's eyes widened significantly before he whipped his head to the right where Angeal's towering frame stood behind the glass.

"Is that me?!" He asked with a squeaky gasp as he pointed to his holographic equal, minus the no ears or tail like he possessed.

"Not quite. This is a holographic version of you aged much older than you currently are. This form of you is not only older, but much faster and stronger." Angeal answered, skewing a bit of the truth.

He would have liked to say _'Yes, this was you before you died and were turned into what you are now',_ but that would have been insensitive, and he was not an insensitive person.

"Ha! This holo-gaf isn't better than me!" Zack enthused as he pointed his thumb to his chest for emphasis.

The virtual version of Zack smirked before sticking its' tongue out at the boastful child. Even personality and voice recognition were graphed into each holograph. The actions caused Angeal to swallow another thick lump in his throat, his storming eyes having to tear away from the virtual image. The old Zack was dead, gone forever. It was hard to see his former student look how he used to. Even if he got him back in one form or another, the relationship they once had became severely altered.

But regardless of shape of form, Zack was still Zack. He steeled his resolve and looked back through the glass. He had his student back, title or not. He did _not_ plan on losing him twice.

"For this first game, you two will have a race. You'll run ten laps around the room to start with, okay?" Angeal instructed.

"Yeah!" The wolf-Zack exclaimed, while the former one nodded with a large and smug grin on his face.

The duplicates with minor altercations stood next to each other against the far right side of the wall, just a few feet in front of the door that lead to the control room. The First Class behind the glass held a haggard breath in his chest. Would the child be able to beat or even match his old self? Would he still retain his former instincts and SOLDIER strength? In Halling's notes, he remembered reading that the subs and the base always retained former strength.

But Zack was also a special case. He retained a fuzzy memory of himself and from the sounds of it, still retained some physical memories as well. He could only pray to a being he didn't believe in that he'd be able to keep his puppy and not have to lose him for a second time. He didn't know if he could handle that kind of loss again.

"When are we gonna start this race? In twenty years?" Holograph-Zack groaned, becoming impatient.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Wolf-Zack shouted, a huge grin on his little face. A few of his ever sharp teeth poked out through his happy smile.

"Alright, alright! Let the race begin!" Angeal called, giving the two the go.

Virtual-Zack started off with a burst of speed, like he always did, while Wolf-Zack lost his footing and stumbled after the first step.

The child was quick to pick himself up and run after his aged projection, which was already half a lap ahead of him already. He let out an annoyed sound and booked it as fast as he could to try and catch up.

Angeal watched with baited breath, arms curled over his chest while his hands hugged his elbows. So far, the child was not keeping up like he should be. So, he _didn't_ retain his former abilities then? The raven-haired man could only heavily sigh and hang his head down slightly. He supposed it made sense. How on Gaia could a four-year-old be as fast and strong as a genetically enhanced fifteen-year-old? It wasn't possible, even with Mako or any other kind of enhancement or experiment…

"Hey!"

Angeal quickly looked up to see who had shouted. His eyes were then struck with avid disbelief when he saw what he did. Wolf-Zack had taken the lead by running on all fours while he laughed. He was ahead of the old-version by a lap and counting. The older man watched the wolf-child's tail gently turn, causing the boy to take sharp and rapid turns without losing his top speed. The way he ran was just like the beast he was molded with: arms and legs working simultaneously to achieve victory.

It wasn't an awkward bi-pedal fashion like most humans attempting animals would do, it was genuine, like the beast inside the boy had taken control and was whooping the projection into the ground. Angeal was breathless and silent, his held breath clutched tightly in his expanded lungs. But he shook his head. He couldn't be proved right by one simple test! He needed to analyze all of the fields SOLDIER excelled in!

"Very well done. You can stop running now." Angeal spoke, at least being able to keep composure with his firm voice.

"Aww! But I'm having fun!" The pup with the two-lap lead whined as he skidded to a stop and sat on his rear, his legs pulled up to his shoulders and his hands resting in the space between.

"We're going to play another game is all." The First Class spoke with a gentle grin.

"Ooh! What kinda game now?" Real-Zack exclaimed, his tail beginning to wag fast from behind him.

"…Squats." Angeal spoke with a playful and reminiscent tone.

He knew both versions of his pup held a fondness for the exercise. It would be a good test to not only assess stamina, but the muscles in just about every part of the body. As long as the little pup could at least match his former self's record, he wouldn't be so worried. When old Zack had been assessed last, his record for most squats in a minute was sixty-two.

The two left their respective spaces and stood five feet away from each other and faced the other. Both looked determined and pumped for the next test and game. Little-Zack smirked as he drew a line across his neck as Big-Zack waved him off with his index finger.

"You have a minute to see who can perform the most squats. Ready, get set, go!" Angeal announced after a small countdown.

The two were off, starting at a slow and measurable pace for each of them. The child was able to squeeze a few more in now that he was closer to the floor aside from his larger counterpart. His little black ears pinned back in concentration.

Within thirty-seconds and time half-way up, the two were at their max speeds, virtual-Zack at thirty-two and wolf-Zack at twenty-eight. The real and projected figures were almost evenly matched, the only difference is that the little one showed signs of exhaustion much faster than the hologram. He eventually got so worn out that in the last five seconds he lost his footing and fell down, breathing heavily with his entire face flushed a rose red. He was near panting by the time the set period finished. His tail was only flicking and one ear returned to its' natural spot atop his head.

Virtual version had sixty-seven squats at the final countdown while the real form had fifty even. Still, fifty squats for a mere child was a feat within itself. He may not match his old self in terms of strength of stamina, but he certainly came close in specified parts, if not exceeding in some areas as well such as speed and dexterity.

Zack was much faster and lighter than he ever was. His strength might have taken a hit, but he still possessed some of it in the end, and that was enough. But then again, was he still a hard-hitter or a good fighter? Was he good with a blade or a gun? Had those skills remained, or were those taken away?

"Good work. For this next game I want you to practice with a blade." Angeal spoke.

"But I don't has a blade, Angeal!" Wolf-Zack protested with a whine, still sitting on the ground to catch his breath.

"You'll get one." The SOLDIER promised with a nod of his head. He broke away from the glass and back over to the control panel. He could always generate a weapon.

He pressed another button near the virtualization one close to the main screen. A list of choices then spawned on the monitor, all being weapons ranging from tazers and blades to guns and knives. He wasn't sure what the little one would be able to handle, so he figured he'd start relatively small. He generated a broad sword into the training room.

Wolf-Zack watched it pixilate into existence right in front of him, soon clattering to the floor with a loud clang and an echo to follow. He bent down and went to pick it up, but could barely lift the thing off the ground. He had both hands curled around the handle and could only manage to raise it an inch or two off the floor.

"It's too heavy, Angeal!" He whined.

The First Class then generated something smaller, deciding on the smallest broadsword the computer had. The one he selected was only three feet long and only weighed five pounds. It was a very thick blade and made out of a fusion of steel and titanium. The old weapon burst into little blue and green blocks before another shape took its place. Soon the smaller sword was produced on the floor where the other had once been.

Wolf-Zack eyed the blade curiously while Virtual-Zack was already doing practice swings with his own blade, yawning obnoxiously and performing the task with bored ease. The little one picked the sword up with both hands, smiling as the blade came off the ground and into the air in front of him.

"I did it! I reallys did it!" He squealed.

"Good job. For this, I want you two to strike each other, and go easy on him." Angeal directed, before talking with the older form.

"Yeah, yeah!" The simulated form protracted before readying his blade swiftly.

"Okay…" The child drawled uneasily, the blade quivering in his little arms.

His older version swing down gently, showing a huge amount of restraint, while the little one squeaked and blindly flung the sword out, blocking the controlled strike. When little blue eyes reopened and saw his own sword stalling the other, a big grin spread across his face before he pulled back and thrusted again. Each sloppy parry was easily stopped with practiced effortlessness.

After five minutes into the battle, Angeal deduced that Zack had not retained his abilities with a blade. His movements were slow and his strikes even slower. Each of his thrusts were blocked with ease and he was always countered and stopped at every point. He had lost his skill with a weapon. If one had been affected, then all of them probably were too.

Even if his swordsmanship was practically gone, he still made up for it by matching his counterpart in the physical field. He still retained a few aptitudes, now it was time to test how much strength he had lost.

"That's enough of weapons for now. For this next game, you two will fight with another." Angeal explained.

"Like, roughhousing?" Little-Zack curiously asked.

"Pretty much." The older man agreed, nodding his head as well.

Virtual-Zack sheathed his blade and readied his gloved fists, getting into a fighting stance while Child-form did the same thing with a laugh and a grin, tail still and ears pinned back.

There was no cue or even a warning given before the hologram leaped into action, his left fist sailing through the air towards the little one, whom squeaked and backed up before falling on his rear without grace. The punches and the flying fists kept coming, leaving the little wolf-hybrid running away from his older self whilst screaming and whining.

Angeal figured this test would be hopeless just like the blade portion, but he soon found he was utterly wrong. Zack stopped running about three minutes into the fight and stood there, little hands balled into fists with his back towards the enemy. All three stopped to stare, wonder and curiosity going through their heads quietly.

Then Zack turned on his heel and bared his teeth, the wolf in him starting to sense malice and danger. He let his other set of instincts take over as he swung his arms out and snarled at the older form in front of him. The projection stepped back, also sensing danger and that he should advance with caution. The little wolf growled and snapped his sharp teeth at the bigger version of himself before lunging; claws swiping and fanged bared.

With instincts fighting one another, the child had the advantage. Not only did he possess greater speed and dexterity, he also possessed the dispositions of a wolf as well as one's behavior and way of life when in the wild. Not to mention he still had his own human instinct and slightly enhanced capabilities. He was a more savage fighter than he ever was when it boiled down to it. With practice, honing, and proper control, he could probably become a better fighter than he ever was, blade or not.

"Very well done, you two can call it quits." Angeal praised, clapping his hands together.

However, quits were not being called for as the wolf-child kept advancing on the holograph, snarling and swinging wildly. The projection was on the fence as he continued to evade the wild, yet controlled, punches and scratches. Most of them he was able to avoid, but some cut through him deep like a blade would.

"Zack! I said that's enough!" Angeal scolded from his spot in the control room.

The practice was over, the training done, so why was he still acting so vicious like this? The command went unheard as the child-gone-savage leapt at his virtual counterpart, digging sharp nails into the clothed flesh and scaling up him like how a cat mounts a tree. Animal instinct demanded that he either kill or be killed.

Hologram-Zack then landed a swift and unrestrained punch square to the child's jaw, knocking him off and sending him flying a few feet before skidding on the ground with a yelp and a whimper. He writhed for a moment before skittering back to his hands and feet, back arched as he snarled at the older version with the left side of his jaw flared an angry red. Even though he was wounded and tossed off, he refused to stop. He rushed at his older adaptation on all fours, snarling and growling as he drooled sloppily as if he was the beast it was melded with.

The virtual Second Class retaliated back on programmed wits and kicked out, the boot crashing into the wild child's right cheek. The little one was kicked to the side with another whine, soon scrambling to get back to his feet to finish the fight. A blade was soon pulled from its sheath as the projection rushed at the ferocious boy. Wolf-Zack snarled, but was kicked to the gut with a boot over his chest as the blade rested against his neck.

Cold metal. Fear. Panic. They all rushed back into the wounded child's mind as he lost his feral nature and receded back into the boy he was supposed to be. He started to cry and whine, then beg not to have the cold slit his throat like before.

Angeal stopped the simulation, the figure breaking apart into thousands of pieces before he quickly opened the training room door and hurried inside to the fallen and crying child. He slid to his knees and picked Zack up, inspecting his face and neck quickly. The blade had only left behind a faint pink mark and his jaw was flushed a flustered red from where it had been hit.

"Zack, calm down, it's alright." Angeal soothed quickly as he held him in a close and comforting fashion.

"D-Don't let it hurt me! Don't let it get me, I's scawed!" Zack whined, his hands groping the empty air close to the older man wildly.

Angeal repositioned the boy, holding him upright as he wrapped his broad arms around the little one's small body. The black-haired boy reacted by throwing his arms around the First's broad neck and crying into his clothed chest.

"Easy now, you're going to be fine." Angeal reassured gently, burying his face into those thick black spikes below.

Zack continued to whine and sob into the older man's chest, rubbing his face side to side against it, as if that would help pacify him. The First Class gently cradled the little one before standing up. That was enough training for the day. He had his answer and so would the President. That was all that mattered.

He left the training room and decided to head back to his flat.

He had to console the child the entire was back, and even when they entered the comforting and rather safe room. The bags from their shopping trip earlier sat undisturbed and untouched on or against the floor beside the coffee table. He spotted Zack's chocobo sitting idly on the couch before maneuvering over to the old toy. He picked it up in his free hand and jingled the little thing right next to the boy's right ear.

Zack glanced over, thick tears engorged in his irritated Mako blue eyes before his right hand reached out for it hesitantly. Once his small hand engulfed the toy, he pulled it to his face and snuggled into it, trying to quell his sobs and his tears.

"Are you alright?" Angeal asked, concern embedded deep in his voice.

"Yeahs, I be okay." Zack assured as he looked up into those deep eyes of midnights blue.

The older man smirked before running his free hand through the wolf-hybrid's soft black spikes. Hopefully, after all he had seen today, it would be enough to convince the president to let one of his prized SOLDIER's keep holding on to one of his own prized students, regardless of the large gap in age. If not…

He shook his head, humming silently to himself. He wasn't going to think like that right now. He could just hope that what he saw was enough.

* * *

A/N: And there's chapter seven for you all! Hope you enjoyed it! :) Leave a review, type a response, or just let me know what you thought of the chapter, okay? Feedback helps! :3

Until the next chapter everyone!

Toodles!

~Zimithrus1


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